Talking Body
by cookiescout
Summary: Since their return from Edolas, Lucy has found herself leering at a certain dragon slayer more so than she'd like to admit. And with Fairy Tail's strongest team on a mission without her and instead with Lisanna Strauss, what is she to do? To be fair, she did ask the fates for a distraction and as the saying goes: Be careful what you wish for, right?
1. Distracted

_**Chapter 1 - Distracted**_

She wasn't sure when it started.

For all she knows, she only noticed that her best friend was actually a looker was when the Edolas version showed up with so much flare in his vehicle. She ignored the feeling then for the sake of the situation but now, there was nothing to keep her distracted.

Since their return, she's been sneaking peeks at the Salamander's toned chest with glazed eyes for as long as she remembered.

Not to mention that the vest he supposedly wore to _modestly_ cover what it should was not doing its job. Oh, if she could just catch a glimpse of that-

"Lucy?"

 _-collar bone._

The sound of her name immediately sent her choking on her shake, coughing violently as Mirajane leaned over the counter to pat her back helpfully.

"Mavis, Lucy. Are you okay?" Mira asked as she watched the blonde sputter to regain her composure.

Muttering her apologies, Lucy returned her attention to the barmaid, pointedly ignoring the gaze she received from the boy she was previous ogling.

"Sorry, Mira." She said, her cheeks flushed from embarrassment.

Mirajane only stared at her, her gaze trailing to spot Lucy's eyes were previously locked on before a smile crept to her lips with understanding. Grabbing a piece of cloth from under the counter, she began to wipe the mess Lucy made.

"Well, aren't you worked up?" Mira mused playfully as she ignored the celestial mage's offer to clean up after herself.

"N-Nothing. I was just a little distracted, that's all." Lucy laughed half-heartedly as she tucked a blonde lock behind her ear.

Mavis, she was so transparent.

Mira's glanced at the dragon slayer once more and grinned from ear to ear. Feeling a bit giddy from her discovery, she looked at the blonde with a knowing smile. She knew Lucy would come around one of these days.

Oh, Cana _so_ owed her 5000 Jewels.

"Well, I would understand why you're so distracted though. The boy grew up to be quite a man." She giggled. Lucy's cheeks only flushed a deeper shade of red.

"However… shouldn't you be used to Natsu's body by now? From what I've heard, the both of you have broken all sorts of boundaries." Mirajane teased.

"Especially in the evenings." She added with a wink.

"Please let me invalidate whatever you just heard because nothing happened and it was mostly non-consensus." Lucy said promptly, her arms making the 'x' gesture as she kept her eyes close in desperate attempt to stop any more blood from rushing to her cheeks.

"Sure." Mirajane chuckled, rolling her eyes as she put the piece of cloth away.

"And my hair's not naturally white."

"Trust me, nothing happened." Lucy sighed, _"_ Well, nothing of that sort anyway." She added a little dejectedly.

"Is it just me or do you sound disappointed?"

Lucy groaned as she laid her head on the counter, glaring slightly at her drink.

"He's too much of a child to do anything. It's annoying, to be honest. He breaks into my house, eats all of my food, and sleeps on my bed."

"With you in it? Oh dear!"

" _Fully clothed_ , Mira." The woman only laughed when Lucy shot her a half-hearted glare.

"Well, if I didn't know better, I'd say you might actually want him to do something." She said.

"Mm, maybe." Lucy replied distractedly, her eyes already trailed to the pink-haired dragon slayer who was about to break out into another brawl with the guild's ice mage.

Mavis, this was getting way out of hand.

 _Snap out of it, Lucy! This is Natsu we're talking about. The same Natsu who laughed at Happy farting like it was the funniest thing on Earthland. The same guy who woudn't know dense unless he found himself in love with a rock!_

Lucy shook her head in distaste. She needed a distraction and needed one fast.

"Speaking of which, do you really have no slots available in there? I'm sure I'll do a great job at bartending." Lucy asked, sitting up properly as she took a sip from her drink.

Mirajane raised a brow at this.

"Didn't you just have a job with Natsu the other week?" She asked.

Mira then backtracked, recalling that they only returned from the parallel world two weeks ago. Not that she remembers much of it since she was made into Lacryma, sharing the majority of the guild's demise.

"Before the whole thing happened, I mean."

Lucy remained quiet for a while, mentally computing the amount of money she currently has before sighing.

"I don't have enough, to be honest. I mean, I have enough to pay my rent, but I won't be eating for _weeks_ if that's the case."

Mira stared at Lucy thoughtfully as she released yet another sigh.

"Well, I'm not sure if I have a job open. Since Lisanna's return, I haven't needed much help in the bar or waitressing at that matter."

The blonde only sighed woefully in reply.

"You know, you can ask Natsu to take another mission with you if you really need the money. Mavis knows he can't say no to some action." Mirajane winked suggestively but blinked when Lucy didn't respond.

Usually, the girl wouldn't hesitate go on a mission with the dragon slayer to scrape a few jewels. Was there something happening that she wasn't aware about?

She watched carefully as Lucy's brows furrowed slightly.

"Or is there something I should know about?"

Lucy squirmed under Mira's gaze. In all honesty, she and Natsu haven't really been alone together since they returned from Edolas. While she enjoyed the peace and quiet, some part of her actually missed the pink-haired idiot… while another part lusted shamefully, of course.

Her eyes easily musked with want as she leered at her partner, watching him with obvious desire as beads of sweat rolled off his neck.

 _Oh, I'll give him some action alright._ She thought as she took another sip from her drink.

"Lucy." Lucy jumped at the sound a new voice calling her name.

"Y-Yes, Erza?" She barely managed to stutter out in fear for her life as she turned to the red-haired girl who demanded her attention.

If Erza, of all people, caught her ogling at Natsu, she was going to hole up in her room for three weeks. Her rent be damned.

"I apologize for interrupting your conversation with Mirajane, but I could not help but overhear the last bit." Erza said as picked at her strawberry cake with a fork.

To say that Lucy was relieved was an understatement.

"Well, I was planning to take Gray and Natsu out for another mission two days from now." She continued.

"That's great! I was just about to ask Natsu if he wanted to go on a mission–" Lucy started excitedly before the redhead interrupted.

"And I plan to take Lisanna with me."

Lucy stared at Erza, confused. She waited for her to get to point of the storybut the ex-quip mage didn't look like she was going to say any further than that.

"I don't have a problem with that. The more the merrier, right?" Lucy asked, not entirely grasping the situation.

So what if Lisanna came with them? It's not like she hated the girl or anything. She was actually really sweet.

"You don't seem to understand, Lucy. You're not coming with us." What the – why?

"Why not?" The words rolled off Lucy's tongue before she could even stop herself, "Is it because I drag the group down? Is that it?"

"That's not it at all, Lucy." Erza began, giving the devastated blonde her full attention. Her eyes were surprisingly soft and didn't hold the amount of hardness that made even Gajeel flinch in fear.

"Fairy Tail teams are not to exceed more than five guild members. Any more than that would be a crowd and the number would only inconvenience the mission."

Lucy could only stare at Erza in disbelief. Frozen solid in her seat, she began to make a list of all of the teams in Fairy Tail and the amount of members.

To her dismay, Erza was right. The teams usually had two or three people, four if they were pushing it.

"But… I don't understand. You said five members, but there's only four of you. Who's the fifth member?" Lucy asked the redhead.

"Happy, of course"

"Happy is a _cat_!" Lucy exclaimed in exasperation.

"Happy is an exceed and a guild member nonetheless." Erza stated firmly, staring down at the blonde with a hard look in her eyes.

"That's ridiculous. This is ridiculous."

At this point, Lucy had probably forgotten that she was talking to Erza as she became lost in her thoughts.

The red-haired warrior then returned her attention to her cake, deciding to ignore Lucy's reaction. Watching the whole scene unfold, Mira couldn't bear the role of being the bystander.

"Erza, you do know that it's not exactly a guild rule and that the member limit is only advised, right?" Mira asked, hushing her tone to almost a whisper.

"Yes, I am aware." Erza replied, watching the barmaid carefully while she chewed her food.

"However, the mission does not require me to ignore such advice."

"Well, why don't you just let up for now? She did say her rent was due soon, and it's not like you'll be breaking any rules." Mira proposed.

"But you'll be giving her that barmaid job you were supposed to pin up before Lisanna's arrival, am I right?" Erza raised an eyebrow for confirmation.

"That's the thing, it was _before_ Lisanna's arrival–"

"And like I said, Lisanna will be accompanying us instead of Lucy. You will be giving her that job, right?"

Mira hesitated, unable to reply immediately while she tried to find another loophole.

Knowing Erza, it was damn near impossible to change her mind once it's set into motion. From all she knows, she hasn't even asked any of the three about it.

But knowing them, they'd agree in a heartbeat without putting any thought into it.

As much as she wanted to help Lucy, there was nothing in her cards that could help the blonde.

Looking at the celestial mage who had gone silent in their conversation, Mirajane sighed.

"… Right."

Erza nodded, satisfied with her response.

"But couldn't there be some other way? All of you matter so much to Lucy. I mean, look at her. She's obviously not taking this very well." Mira waved to Lucy in emphasis as Erza's gaze followed suit.

Noticing the red brows that furrowed slightly, Mirajane did all she could to stop the triumphant smirk from creeping to her lips.

Erza only sighed.

"Rules are rules, Mirajane. You, of all people, should know that better than anyone."

At this, Mira's face fell. However, the Titania wasn't finished.

"As much as I want to bring Lucy with us, it would only tarnish my judgment as well as Fairy Tail's name. Bringing along a sixth member would only make the individuals participating seem like they are inadequate for the job. And as the guild's supposed 'Strongest Team'… I can't allow that now, can I?" Erza asked Mirajane with a soft smile graced on her lips.

As much as Mira didn't want to admit it, Erza was right.

"Well, now that's settled. Thank you for the meal." Erza said with a smile on her face as she rose from her seat, completely oblivious to the tension between the three of them.

"I hope you won't take this to heart, Lucy. You are our comrade, but rules are rules. I assure you that this mission will be over before you know it." She told the blonde while giving her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder.

Lucy couldn't help but smile at the gesture.

"It's fine. I overreacted. It's a huge bummer but I totally get it." Lucy told her as she stood up to give the armor-clad woman some sort of hug that didn't prove to be uncomfortable to the celestial mage.

"Good luck on your trip."

"Thank you for understanding, Lucy. I'll make sure to bring you a souvenir when we get back."

"You don't have to. Really." She assured Erza with a laugh before watching the mage walk to the brawling idiots with a sad smile etched on her face.

To be fair, she did ask the fates for a distraction. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about sabotaging the mission because she couldn't keep her hormones together. You know what they say, beggars can't be choosy.

Feeling Mirajane's sympathetic stare boring into her back, she returned her attention to the barmaid with the biggest grin she could muster.

"So, when do I start?"

* * *

 **And that's the first chapter of Talking Body! Honestly, the idea came over while I was scourging through the site for some good NaLu fanfictions and I noticed that the whole 'Lisanna replaces Lucy in the team' was the most popular concept yet (next to HighschoolAU and modernAU). And while I was reading those, I couldn't help but wonder _why_ Lucy has to be _replaced_ specifically and why she just accepted her fate graciously, then would leave her guild soon after.**

 **So with Lucy's history with the guild in mind (they went to war with Phantom Lord for her jfc) and the thought of how irrational it would be if they just kicked her out (they could just 'add' Lisanna without kicking anybody out), I decided to have my take at the concept. Yeahhhh, that's pretty much how it went. Not that I'm bashing those fics, they _are_ really good. I just wanted to probe the concept as well without the drama and all. Haha.**

 **Also, I finished writing this at like 3AM so you _will_ find me going through the chapter, editing it, adding a few scenes and what not like the indecisive person I really am. Please feel free to point out any 'glitches' if you notice them and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated!**

 **Well, there you go. So much for an Author's Note. I'd probably be more comfortable with this in the proceeding chapters since I'm not really used to adding these notes. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!**


	2. Bed, stay in Bed

_Edited 5/8/15  
_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1.5 - Bed, stay in Bed**_

The first thing she noticed was the fluttering of the curtains and the open window above her. Next was the excess weight on her bed, then the warm and steady breathing on her neck. It didn't take long for her to figure out that Natsu had managed to break into her room for the nth time.

 _What the hell? I'm sure I locked up this time._ She thought as she inspected her window. Wincing slightly, she ignored the pounding in her head while she raised her head. Narrowing her eyes and with the moonlight as her guide, she barely made out the melted glass and the broken lock.

Lucy groaned as she groggily turned to lay flat on her back, sighing in resignation. To put it bluntly, she felt like _shit._ Her eyes were swollen and it took everything just to keep it open, and she could swear that the dry flakes that streamed into lines on her cheeks was the mascara that ran earlier.

She turned her head and stared at Natsu's face for a good long minute. The moonlight had graced his features, making it seem like the devil himself was heaven sent. Of course, the object of her lust was laying next to her. Not to mention, breathing down her neck fast asleep.

Lucy groaned again, this time in frustration as she rubbed her face. The fates were playing a cruel game on her and she was sure that they were laughing at her right now from the Lacryma ball they were watching this from. She then then turned to glare at Natsu. Honestly, she was too tired to even muster the energy to push the idiot off her bed, much less scream.

Squirming under her covers, she struggled to turn her body to face the dragon slayer.

"Natsu."

Natsu grunted in response before pulling Lucy into him. With a small 'oof' from the blonde, Lucy found herself surrounded by muscle.

 _Wouldn't this be a dream?_ She thought as she felt her face pull into a frown.

"Natsu. Get off." She tried again, her voice a bit muffled from her position. She felt his body shift in response. Like she dreaded, he only tightened his hold on her.

"Sht 'p Lu, 'm sleepin."

Looking up, she could easily see the collar bones that she's been begging to see hours before. Blood rose to her cheeks as she shamelessly let her eyes trail over his neck, down to his collar. Lucy gulped as she released a breathy gasp.

A brief mental image of sweaty bodies gliding up against each made her eyes glaze with desire. Instinctively, she rubbed her thighs together to induce some friction down below. Her breathing quickened, so did her heartbeat when she dared to trail her fingers over his chest, embedding the feeling of his skin into her mind.

She wanted to drink it all in, and she wanted it all for herself.

 _Now, if we're talking body…_ she thought maliciously, licking her lips in want.

Another grunt above her snapped Lucy out her reverie. Horrified by her actions, she made a mental note to slap herself on the face once she was free from his hold.

 _Now is really not the time, Lucy!_ Her inner voice screamed, fueling her self-loathing.

Maybe this was karma. This whole situation was her punishment for actually daring to have adulterated fantasies about her best friend. It's that Suspension Bridge effect with Natsu freaking her out all the time. It has to be. That, and the killer migraine.

 _Speaking of which, I have to tell him that we have to take a mission soon. My rent's almost due-_

Lucy stopped in her tracks as the memories of the previous day came flooding in.

She had to admit, it _stung_. The very fact that she was downgraded enough to be deemed unreliable for a mission with the guild's strongest team - no, _her_ _team_ hurt like hell. Not to mention that a supposedly _dead girl_ (may God bless her soul), easily outranked her for it made her feel worse than inadequate. Lucy realized her strength and weaknesses - hell, she acknowledged them which is saying a lot for most people.

As much as she loved Erza and understood her reasons, Lucy couldn't help but feel dejected.

Again, she sighed. Alcohol was the only thing that could get rid of the heavy feeling that settled in her gut. Fortunately, Mira was able to convince her to go home before Cana caught wind of Lucy's attempts to get absolutely smashed.

Lucy's cheeks flushed at the memory, realizing that she must have looked absolutely pathetic.

 _Well, that would explain the migraine._ She thought before returning to the situation at hand. Trapped in the dragon slayer's arms, she couldn't help but become hyper aware of their position. She squirmed in his hold as she managed to position her hands in front of his chest so that she could push him off.

She took a deep breath, ready to initiate contact but froze as soon as his strong scent hit her like a punch on the temple.

A delightful shiver ran up Lucy's spine the moment she breathed in the musky scent of smoke and firewood. It was one of the remarkable scents, but those was not the only ones she picked up. There were soap, sweat, and something that she couldn't make out of. It was like she was breathing fire specially reserved for her, except it was the good kind of flame. Barely containing herself, she sniffed his neck once more just to quench her guilty pleasures.

Lucy didn't want to admit it, but she actually liked the way Natsu was holding her right now.

Realizing that she had probably lost herself again, she let out a growl and pushed with all her might.

"Luce, g' to sleep. Quit movin." Natsu mumbled in her hair, annoyed. He was barely fazed with all the pressure she was trying to put with her push. At this Lucy grunted, accepting defeat.

"Natsu, seriously. Get off."

"No."

" _Natsu_." She growled threateningly. She felt Natsu flinch but stubbornly kept his stance. Lucy gave another sigh, defeated.

Sliding her hands down his chest, Lucy felt Natsu's body tense then gradually relax.

"I'm not going to kick you off the bed, I promise." She said, her tone soft.

Natsu grumbled under his breath but finally let go of the blonde. She almost regretted her decision as soon as his arms left her. Before she could say another word, he had already turned his back towards her and heaved a deep breath before easing into sleep. Lucy could tell that he was comfortable by the way his back easily became relaxed.

She couldn't help but smile softly at the pink-haired idiot. She shifted her position so that she was facing the wall, her back towards Natsu when she heard his voice. Lucy couldn't stop the grin that etched its way into her face as she snuggled into her pillow in content.

"Night, Luce."

"Good night too, you jerk."

* * *

 **Yeahhhh, I'm just going to leave you guys with a filler before I actually get into the real thing. I'm not really into rushing the drama and tbh, I just wanted to write fluff today and nothing more so... my bad?**

 **Also, thank you so much for the feedback! I really appreciate everyone who took their time to read this and decided it was worth their time to actually follow. You guys made my day! I kind of remember the days when I used to live for fanfictions. /sniffs**

 **So for now, I hope you guys enjoyed the shameless fluff I posted. I'll be posting another chapter sometime later... or probably tomorrow, it depends. My update times will have to depend on my availability and so far, I'm pretty available since it's summer (and honestly, I only have a month to go before classes start again).**

 **I think it's too early to be saying this now but I'm going to tell you guys ahead that I will not be updating chapters on May 20 to 30 for family vacation and publication outing. However, I'll try to write as much as I can and go on a uploading roll when I get back.**

 **Again, thank you so much! I hope you will continue to support me as I write this fanfiction and hopefully not lose interest along the way ahahaha.. uhh.**

 **See ya!**


	3. The Nile

_Edited 5/14/15  
_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2 - The Nile**_

Lisanna bit on her nail as she cast another worried glance at the guild doors, expecting a curvaceous blonde to burst in any minute.

"Lisanna? Did Lucy arrive yet? She's late for her orientation." Mirajane asked as she stepped out of the backroom. Lisanna only shook her head in response.

It was half past 12, later than the celestial mage's usual entrance. Lisanna wanted to at least talk to Lucy before they left for Crocus tomorrow.

 _She's mad. She's definitely mad._ She thought to herself as she chewed on her nails, her heart pounding in her ears.

"She's not angry, is she? I mean the other Lucy would be _furious_ , and I haven't really had a proper conversation with this Lucy since I came back and – " Lisanna was interrupted by her sister's giggling.

"What?"

"Of course she's not mad, she's Lucy! If there's anyone to get her unnecessarily riled up, it would be Natsu." Mirajane said, barely containing her laughter.

"That's true…" Lisanna trailed off as she watched the guild doors with concern.

As if on cue, Lucy slipped between the open doors with Levy McGarden.

Waving her blunette friend goodbye, she made her way to the bar with an enthusiastic smile on her face. She walked in such a way that she made up for whatever grace Lucy Ashley lacked.

Lisanna gulped.

And as soon as the blonde approached the counter, the words rolled of the take over mage's tongue before she even realized what she was saying.

"You're not mad, right? I really hope you're not mad!"

Lucy only stared at her, confused.

At this, Lisanna swore under her breath and made a mental note to go get hit by a pole tomorrow as hard as she could. Beside her, Mirajane let out a snort.

"Mad? About what?" Lucy asked as she shot Mirajane a confused look before shifting her gaze to Lisanna, "Why would I be mad?"

"Eep! You _are_ mad!" The girl squeaked fearfully when Lucy raised her arm to put her bag on the wooden surface.

Hiding behind her arms, Lisanna anticipated a smack that never came. She lowered her arms and was met with Lucy's concerned gaze with a hint of confusion.

"Okay…" The blonde started before turning to Mira, "I don't get it, what's going on?"

"It seems that my sister still sees you in Lucy Ashley's violent light." Mira stated as she chuckled behind her fingers.

Lucy snorted before bubbling into waves of laughter. This time, it was Lisanna who was confused.

"There is no way I am like her. _No way_." Lucy said between her laughs, clutched her stomach for dear life.

"Okay, okay. I'm good." She breathed then cocked a brow at Lisanna, tilting her head slightly to the side with a genuine smile gracing her features.

"But really though, why would I be mad?"

Lisanna hesitated, her eyes wandering to the patterns of the wooden patterns just so she could avoid Lucy's.

She heard Mirajane excuse herself and watched the blonde waved her goodbye from the corner of her eyes. Once they were out of her sister's earshot, she felt adrenaline run up her veins, giving her just enough courage to continue.

"Erza told me about the mission."

Lucy froze. Seeing this, panic began to rise up Lisanna's throat like it were bile.

"I didn't know about the rule, I promise! I didn't know my joining them had any consequences! I just wanted to take a mission with them because I missed them so bad. I really didn't know that meant – "

"Lisanna, calm down. Breathe." Lucy watched as Lisanna followed her instructions. Leaning over the counter, she made soothing circles with her fingers on the girl's back.

"I'm not mad about it. Really, I'm not." She smiled as she felt Lisanna relax, "I get it."

 _So it wasn't because I was weak. It was because Lisanna asked if she could join. Why didn't Erza just say that in the first place?_ Lucy thought, her brows scrunching slightly. She then remembered that the redhead had the tendency to make herself look like the villain to prevent fights from breaking out.

 _She probably thought that would put Lisanna in a bad light._ She realized as a smile crept to her lips.

"I still don't understand why you thought I'd be mad about it, though." She said as soon as the take over mage calmed down.

"Well, I saw you drinking yesterday, crying too, but you wouldn't talk to anyone about it." Lisanna started, "You just kept demanding to keep the rum coming and swore to get so wasted, Natsu wouldn't know what hit him. So I asked Mirajane."

"What did she tell you?" Lucy asked, her cheeks burning at the statement regarding the dragon slayer.

While Lisanna didn't understand why she said that, Lucy knew all too well about what she meant by it.

"She said was that Erza told you something and you didn't take the news as well as you thought you did." Lisanna replied while twiddling with her thumbs.

"Then earlier this morning, Erza told me about the mission. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together to be honest."

"Oh." was all Lucy could say while the white haired mage stared at her apologetically.

"But if it means anything, I can withdraw my participation!"

"Oh. Wait, no! Don't do that. You absolutely shall _not_ -"

"Are you two done talking? I still need to give Lucy the orientation." Mirajane said as she popped her head out of the back room.

"Oh! Yeah. Be there in a minute!" Lucy called out, flashing Lisanna an assuring smile as she rose from her seat.

"Well to be fair, I was crying because I thought I was weak so now that we have that out of the way…" Lucy stared at her feet, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Oh! No, Lucy, you're anything _but_ weak!" Lisanna exclaimed.

"Yeah, well…" Lucy trailed off as she scratched the back of her head, "I do feel a lot better now, thank you."

"A-Anytime."

"But seriously though, don't do that." Lucy warned as she playfully glared her down.

The girl only laughed at her half-hearted attempt to be volatile. With a smile, Lucy left Lisanna to her own thoughts.

She watched the blonde disappear into the backroom with a mix of emotions bubbling in her chest.

For one, she was relieved that Lucy didn't take the whole thing to heart, but there was still that heavy feeling of dread that hadn't left her gut and she couldn't put her finger as to why.

Was there something else?

Her eyes wandered around the guild until they fell on a familiar pink-haired dragon slayer who was sprawled all over one of the tables, fast asleep. Across him was the feline they had raised together, Happy, who was eating the serving of fish like there was not one like it.

Just the sight of them made her chest tighten painfully with an indescribable emotion.

Lisanna frowned as realization dawned her.

Hopefully, personalities were not the only thing that's flipped with Lucy and Natsu.

* * *

"Hey! Glad you could make it!"

Lucy flushed a deep shade of red as she stepped inside the back room. She was supposed to be here at 11' o clock and she didn't even realize it was already this late.

"Sorry, Mira. I _did_ get up early, but I got a little…" She trailed off as she let her eyes wander around the ingredients that were shelved. So it was more of a storage room than it was a backroom.

"…side tracked." Lucy finally finished once her gaze fell on the barmaid.

"Oh?" Mira tilted her head to the side, urging the blonde to continue. Lucy scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Natsu broke into my room again last night to freeload and didn't leave until the morning." She tried to explain.

"But you came in with Levy though?"

"I went to Levy's after that so we could talk about… stuff…" Lucy muttered as her cheeks began to tint a hue of red once more. She gave the floor a hard glare before continuing.

"I think I might have it bad for Natsu." The blonde mumbled but Mirajane heard it loud and clear.

It took everything for the mage to stay on the ground and not let her giddiness show. Well, the latter part might not have been a successful attempt but she _did_ stay on the ground.

"I knew it, I knew it. I swore on Mavis' soul that this would happen and it did!"

Lucy could only watch the white-haired mage as she could barely contain her arms from moving around. It was safe to say that she wasn't really surprised at her reaction and actually expected it. Suddenly, she felt another a soft pair of hands envelop hers and held against something even – dare she say it, _softer_.

"Mira–!" Lucy started as she tried to rip her hands away from Mira's chest when her vision was shrouded with the girl's sparkling eyes.

"When did you realize it?" She asked, leaning in closer as her eyes twinkled in excitement.

"I didn't realize _anything_." Lucy stated firmly, immediately regretting her decision to tell the mage.

"Sure, and you're not blonde." Mira scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

"I _am_ blonde and I _didn't_ have any weird epiphany about being in love with my best friend!" The blonde exclaimed, her cheeks burning a bright shade of red. Mira frowned and stared at her as if searching her eyes for something.

"You know, the nile is not just a river in Fiore."

"I am not in denial!"

"Are you two okay in there? I heard some yelling." The two froze, slowly averting their attention to the white-haired mage peeking from the doorway.

"Oh, it's nothing, Lisanna. Just your sister here being stubborn." Lucy explained, shooting the amused Mirajane a pointed glare.

"Right. Well, don't kill each other." was all she said before she pulled the door to a close.

Silence filled the air as the two stared at each other, fighting a silent battle with their eyes.

Mira demanded an explanation and she wasn't planning to just drop it anytime soon. Lucy, on the other hand, fought an internal battle of pride and fear.

Unfortunately, the latter won and it was Lucy who broke first.

"I might want to skip the formalities and do more than just kiss the bastard, okay?" She finally admitted, turning away to glare at the unsuspecting jar of radish.

"Oh dear!" Lucy shot Mira another look as she waited for a more fitting response.

"But why did you go to Levy though?" The take-over mage finally asked, eliciting a relieved sigh from the blonde.

"Well, she experienced a similar thing with… someone so I thought she might have a word for what I was going through."

Mirajane cocked a brow at the newfound gossip but Lucy refused to give out any information by pointedly ignoring the look she was giving her. The blonde already gave up her pride, she wasn't going to just sacrifice Levy's just to get out of Mira's hair.

"Well…" Mira started slowly, eyeing the blonde as she grudgingly let it go, "Did you find what you were looking for?"

Lucy stared at the floor, biting her lip as she hesitated to answer.

"No."

* * *

 **I have no excuse for this chapter, I'm so sorry. Before I went to bed last night, I actually had an idea mapped out for this chapter. Something that went along the lines of "wow!", "omg!", and "daaaaang" but achieved absolutely nothing mentioned above. So I apologize for a completely anti-climatic chapter...**

 **Again, thank you so much for the feedback! I never expected the boom in the traffic stats, especially with the number of people who followed this story and listed it as one of their favorites. It really pumped up the pressure and I feel _really_ bad for disappointing you guys (and myself as well). I did try to pump up the juice for this chapter and make it longer but I found myself by updates from some of the stories I followed which led one thing to another and ended with me slacking off and reading fanfictions all day.**

 **Still, I really appreciated those who took the time to review this story. No matter the length of the message, they were still enough to make my day.**

 _ **randomgirl: I totally see that PJO reference, don't you even try to hide it. And unfortunately no, Lucy's not a demigod. I'm just really used to referring to the superior beings in fictional universes as 'The Fates', I guess? Oh well, what's done is done. Haha.**_

 _ **Powwo: Hello! I'm really glad that you find this interesting (despite the concept being so overused and all)! I do try to spice things up but unfortunately, it's against my code to reveal too much too fast. So I'm probably going to take this slow and see how it goes.**_

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter (despite its state ugh)! Also, I'm sorry for sounding excited all the time. It's the PR, I try so hard.**


	4. Not So Distracted

**Hello! I don't usually make Author's Notes at the beginning of the chapter so don't worry, I won't be doing this often. I'm just here to make a heads up that I have EDITED Chapter 1.5 and 2 to give the story more depth and all. You can check it out if you want, there's no major edits so I think you'll be fine without them. Anyhow, enjoy!**

 _Edited 5/14/25_

* * *

 ** _Chapter 3 - Not So Distracted_**

Lucy sighed as she absent-mindedly wiped the dust off the mugs then reshelved them. Mirajane had disappeared over an hour ago to refill some stocks so she was in charge of the bar. A poor decision on the take over mage's part but, like she promised, it wasn't anything Lucy couldn't handle.

As Lucy did her routine to the rest of the ceramics, she couldn't help but let her mind wander off. She wondered about how the team was doing. Lucy was worried, to be honest. She wondered if they were doing fine, and if they had her on their minds just as they occupied hers.

 _Probably riding a train to the next town while Natsu's spewing his guts all over the floor._ She thought, the corner of her lips twitching upward in amusement.

 _Natsu…_ Her eyes stung as she a wave of sadness overcame her. It's been three days since they left for the mission. Three days since she last talked to the dragon slayer.

He didn't take it very well when he found out that she wouldn't be joining them. Hell, it was a surprise that Erza didn't tell him. Much to her expense, she had to be the one that broke the news to him under the impression that he already knew.

" _What?! You're not going?!" Natsu screamed, dropping his bag on the floor. Lucy was behind the counter, supposedly empty handed if it weren't for the dishcloth in her hands._

 _"Didn't they tell you?" She asked, an eyebrow arched at him. That's weird. She didn't think Erza would leave out that piece of information._

" _No!"_

To her dismay, the boy had thrown a tantrum and stubbornly remained in his seat until Erza had to come in drag him out herself. He wouldn't go, he said. Not unless Lucy was coming with. The blonde had to convince Natsu to go through with it and that it was her decision to stay.

" _You really don't want to come?" He finally asked as he gave her a piercing stare. She hated that look. She couldn't hide anything from him when he had that look on his face._

 _Putting up her best smile, she replied as sincerely as she could._

" _No."_

No.

That was also what she told Mirajane in the back room the days before.

 _No._ At least, not yet anyway.

"Hey, Lucy! Give me a pint, will ya?" Lucy nearly jumped when she heard Cana slam a bottle of liquor down on the counter. Taking a moment to collect herself, she went over the shelf to get another bottle.

"Sure, Cana!" She replied with false cheer as she reached for the bottle.

To be honest, she felt bad for lying to Mirajane. She had been nothing but patient when it came to Lucy. However, to protect whatever was left of her dignity, the blonde decided that it was for the best.

It was either tell the complete unadulterated truth and face the wrath of Mirajane, or have a bit of peace _then_ face the wrath of Mirajane. Both of which, contain two different contexts of 'wrath', one just as bad as the other.

Lucy released another sigh just as she put the drink in front of the drunkard. Lucy found herself in her own thoughts again except, this time, it was the memory of her discussion with Levy three days ago.

* * *

They were in seated on the floor in Levy's room amidst all of the scatters scriptures and open books. Levy had her eyes closed, scowling deeply in thought while Lucy just stared at her hands, ignoring the blush on cheeks that had spread to her ears.

"So you're telling me that you think this whole... _thing_ ," Levy said distastefully as she gestured to all Lucy, "might be another one of their weird dragon slayer traits?"

"Hey! You're going through the same thing!" Lucy exclaimed defensively. She watched in satisfaction as the blunette roll her eyes and crinkled her nose in self-disgust.

"Besides, it's just a hypothesis." The blonde added with a shrug.

"So you would rather _hypothesize_ a weird dragon slayer mating ritual than admit the fact that you have it bad for Natsu Dragneel?" The solid script mage asked, air quoting on 'hypothesize' as she stared at Lucy like she grew a second head.

"It seems to me like you just have a terrible case of Denial, Lu." The blonde only cocked a brow in response which the blonde pointedly ignored.

"Why, do you?" Lucy muttered under her breath, but she knew Levy heard it just as well.

She didn't even have to say it. Lucy knew that Levy was smart to get point across. She watched as the blunette's cheeks flare into a shocking shade of red then knit her brows to a frown.

"... Point taken."

Lucy held back a satisfied smirk. Levy shook her head, irritated.

"I'd hate to admit it but I did try to look around for those 'mating rituals'." Levy started as she got on her feet, pointedly ignoring the triumphant look on the blonde's face as she went over to her bookshelf. Not a second later, she began to grab books off her shelves and piled them up in one arm.

With a huff, she propped them in front Lucy.

The blonde narrowed her eyes in scrutiny as she examined the book titles from the spine.

 _Dragon Slayers for Dummies, 500 years of Dragon Slaying, How to train your Dragon Slayer..._ These were all dragon slaying books.

"Well, what did you find?"

"Nothing, Lucy. I found absolutely nothing. I hate to break it to you but it doesn't exist. At least not in these books."

Lucy stared at Lucy before she heaved a sigh.

"You make it sound like there's still hope."

"Actually, I like to think there is."

"Why do you think so?"

"Well, these books are written by dragon slayers." Levy stated as she gestured to the books.

"I like to think that they're not dumb enough to include their weaknesses. This one has been the closest I've had to finding something."

Lucy watched as the blunette held up a leather bound book with the title: _Dragons in the Sky._

"It had section briefly mentioning the term 'mates' but didn't expound on it. Now I don't want to get your hopes up, but if we want to confirm your theory - "

" _Our_ theory." The blonde corrected, earning her an eye roll from the solid script mage.

"Fine. _Our theory_ , we'll have to approach the devils themselves."

Silence ensued as the two mages stared at each other blankly.

Suddenly, Lucy's eyes brightened while Levy's widened in alarm. Levy cussed under breath, immediately regretting her saying the last sentence.

Pointedly looking away from the celestial mage's face, she made her way across the room and proceeded to glare at her bookshelf like it betrayed her.

She could literally feel Lucy's stare boring a hole unto her back.

"No way. There is no way in hell. Absolutely no."

"Pretty please, Lev? With sugar on top?" Her voice was sickeningly syrupy sweet and Levy knew better than to turn her head and meet the blonde's puppy dog eyes.

"I'm not doing it. No. Why don't _you_ ask him yourself?"

"Well, I personally doubt that Natsu even has a distinct idea that it exists and Gajeel…" She smirked when she saw Levy's tiny structure stiffened at his name.

"Well, _Gajeel_ has a softer spot for you, Lev." Lucy made it a point to emphasize the iron dragon slayer's name as she noted the red tint on Levy's ears.

The blunette groaned in frustration before she turned to shoot Lucy an icy glare.

"Fine." The blunette finally said – no, _snapped._ Heaving a deep sigh, she shot the blonde another look, "But you _so_ owe me."

* * *

"Ya know, Luce, you're weirder when that pink furball ain't around."

Lucy whipped her head up in surprise and turned to see the card mage staring at her.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, you're weirder when Natsu's not around." Cana repeated after downed the bottle. She put it down for a second to check the label with a frown then muttered a small 'whatever' under her breath.

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno, you're more… what's the word? Pensive! There it is. A lot more restless too."

"Really?"

Lucy never realized that she would be that transparent. So everything does show on her face, huh? Including…

Oh dear.

Lucy paled at the thought.

"Yeah, you are." Cana snorted at the look on her face as she finished her bottle in seconds.

"So why don't ya c'mere and tell big sister Cana what's eatin ya?" The brunette patted the stool next to her before taking another swig only to find out the bottle was already empty.

"Oh, and fetch me another bottle, will ya?"

"Can't exactly leave the bar." Lucy laughed but got her another bottle nonetheless.

Cana muttered another 'whatever' and something that suspiciously sounded like 'fuck Mira', but accepted her drink gratefully.

"Why are you so interested though?" Lucy asked, raising a brow at the brunette.

"Well, last week you were drooling over Natsu like a piece o' meat – don't even try to debunk that, I know sex eyes when I see it."

Lucy had her mouth open but promptly closed it. So she really was obvious. Damn it.

"Took ya long enough tho', no offense."

"None taken." Lucy shrugged then urged her to continue. She waited as Cana took a long drink then slammed it back down on the counter with a satisfied sigh.

"Anyway," The brunette started as she raised her arm to rub the alcohol off her lips, "you were droolin' aryt but now you're like, _incomplete_ or somethin'. I don't know. You just don't look right."

Lucy was quiet, her lips pursed in thought. She never thought of it like that. Hell, she didn't even notice the shift in her emotions like Cana described it. The blonde frowned.

Maybe it was just the circumstances, with her being off the team and everything.

"Missin' your baby daddy, perhaps?"

Lucy immediately reddened as her eyes widened, scandalized.

" _Cana!_ "

Cana only burst into boisterous laughter as she slammed her hand on the wooden surface repeatedly, catching the attention of a few guildmates nearby. Lucy's face steamed while she glared at the mage.

"It's not like that!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But seriously, you shoulda' seen your face!" Cana cackled while the blonde pouted.

Lucy sighed.

For someone who asked for a distraction, she was not very distracted.

* * *

 **I finally finished iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit. Honestly though, circumstances did not allow me to write this within a day but I got that out and hell yeaaaaaaaaa I'm chill. And seriously guys, _wow._ Thank you so much for the support, I really don't know what I'd do to keep my motivation running without it.  
**

 **I'm really glad that you guys enjoyed it. It means so much to me. Seriously, thank you.**

 **I honestly had a million ways to go around this chapter but I keep sleeping on it and waking up with an empty head. This is honestly the first time a chapter went exactly how I wanted it to. Also, I'm really sorry if I'm being too slow with the progress. I'm kind of having difficulty putting the ideas to words and I sometimes find myself stuck on how to write the scene itself the getting the point of it across.**

 **I'm getting rusty, eh. I should really quit stalling and get around the main plot already.**

 _ **Powwo: Yeah hahahaha I kind of see Lucy as the girl who just doesn't know what she wants when it comes to these sorts of complications especially when she's not all too used to them. And the fact that she feels that way for Natsu, of all people, is only making it worse. :)) Also, I'm really sorry for the short chapters, I'm just really lazy o- I tried to lengthen this one though, I hope it's long enough ;; u ;; I used to be able to write reaaally long chapters (like 16 pages on word bruh chill) but I realized that too many scenes might become too overwhelming for the readers. So I'm trying to limit it to 1k to 3k words as much as possible. (but i'm still really lazy tho /shots)**_

 _ **Nalu fan: Hi! Thank you so much for that, I really needed it. ;; u ;; Tbh, I was really worried about my writing because I'm really bad with action (like in general. Why is writing people do things so hard?). Also, I'm really, really glad that you pointed that out. It literally woke me up and got me re-reading my last few chapters to see what I've been missing. I added a few scenes to add more depth in the last two chapters now so feel free to check it out. I can't tell you how it matters yet since it's still going to be a huge factor to the story. Like a rock thrown to a pond, creating ripples and what not. Don't worry though! It'll start to come together in the following chapters so just stay tuned! :)**_

 _ **kissthesky: I'm glad you like it! And yeah, I'm going to have to agree with you on that. I mean, Lisanna is such as sweet girl, I really didn't want to see her antagonized like that and it would be really weird if Team Natsu would just kick Lucy off like that especially when they practically risked their lives for her at the Phantom arc. It just didn't seem like something they could easily do, especially Natsu since that boy is clingy af.**_

 _ **AnonymousStalkerFriend: Hi! I'm glad you liked the chapter hahaha. Bye! :))**_

 **That aside, I won't be updating tomorrow because I'll be crashing at a friend's place to play Sims 3 (shoosh it's addictive) since I don't have my own copy of the game. Right now, I'm formulating an update schedule since it's absolutely _impossible_ to try to update a chapter every day. I'll probably have one ready by the next chapter's Author's Note so just keep noted.  
**

 **See ya, fellas! I'm really glad you enjoyed this chapter. You are all too good for me. ;; u ;;**


	5. Boy Problems

_**Chapter 4 - Boy Problems**_

The guild hall buzzed as guild mates either laughed or bantered in their specific circles. It was a scene you would expect from any guild, most especially behind the doors of Fairy Tail.

Behind the counters of the guild's bar was another scene that had become a normal occurrence in the guild. Just when the long hand of the clock strikes 2, a blonde celestial mage will soon be found sprawled all over the counter.

That only meant one thing: Lunch Hour was finally over.

Contrary to popular belief, Lunch Hour doesn't actually last an hour. In fact, it goes on for _three agonizing hours_ : Promptly beginning at 11 o' clock in the morning to 2 o' clock in the afternoon, sometimes stretching it to 3. And those hours were the worst hours Lucy never thought she would find herself dreading for _every waking moment of her life_ since she began her job as a barmaid.

To say that Lucy was tired was understatement. The blonde was _exhausted_. She could almost swear that the burning sensation beneath her skin was not just her muscles aching, but her bones thinning.

Lucy worked a schedule of the typical 9 to 5, earning as much as 150 J per hour which made at least 1200 J a day if you don't count the tips. She was allowed two days off every week which is, to be completely honest, a lot considering other bar tending and waitress jobs.

To her advantage, she can grab anything she wants be it a meal or a drink as long she lists it all down in a notebook. To her disadvantage, everything she took would come right out of her paycheck.

To sum it all up, Lucy would roughly get 12,600 J every 15 days with her pay alone, 17,400 J if she doesn't take any breaks.

It wouldn't even be enough to pay for her 70,000 J apartment. Lucy would be able to survive for this month, but if this was going to continue, she might have to reconsider her residence.

Thank Mavis for missions (and admittedly, Natsu). It was nice to know that she had a back-up plan and a good relationship with Mirajane to live by.

"Good job today, Lucy! You can take your break now." Mirajane's word rang like bells in her ears while her eyes begin to sing from her tears of relief.

The last six days had been absolutely hellish for the blonde. The only thing keeping her sane was the one hour breaks Mira allowed her once in a while. Once her shift is over, she would head to Levy's room and spend a few hours going over books about dragon slayers with the blunette. Soon after that, she just usually found herself in her house and fast asleep on her bed.

Lucy could barely remember the last time she took two baths in a day, much to her dismay.

With newfound energy, she rose from the counter and made her way to Levy's table after she saying a word of thanks to Mira.

The solid script mage was seated by herself, a pen in hand, a book on another, and a mess of scattered parchments in front of her. On the bridge of her nose was a pair of second-grade Gale-Force Reading Glasses, allowing her to go over the book eighteen times the average speed.

Even Jet and Droy knew better than to accompany her when she was like this. She had the tendency to care too little about their existence.

Levy barely noticed Lucy take the seat across hers as her eyes solely focused on the book, her concentration never wavering.

"No luck?" Lucy asked as soon as Levy reached the end of the book. Promptly snapping it shut, the blunette sighed.

"None, whatsoever." She replied as she took her glasses off.

"Ah."

The two remained silent while an aura of disappointment began to settle in the air. They relished in their few moments of relaxation that they knew would be over too soon.

They were tired. The lack of progress was starting to take a toll on them – especially on Lucy.

She didn't understand why but as the days without her partner grew longer, her chest became tighter making it difficult for her to breathe. She recognized the feeling. It was the same thing she went through in the first few months of her mother's death, though not as intense.

Lucy just didn't understand _why_ she was yearning for Natsu's presence.

The fact that she was driven to the brink of exhaustion almost every day only made it worse. She wouldn't be surprised if she found herself calling in sick anytime soon.

"And Gajeel?"

"He's not breaking." Levy grumbled as she glared at the table, frustrated.

Between the both of them, Levy's been working the hardest.

If Lucy hadn't come into her room and strengthened her resolve to research her – well, _their_ silly theory, she would have lived the rest of her life with her irrational attraction for the big lug. And if there was one thing that Levy hated, it was irrational.

Since then, Levy never missed a day in the Magnolia Library to find more books about dragon slayers and from pestering the iron dragon slayer for information.

"I know – hell, I can _feel_ him holding something back whenever I ask him. He's hiding something, I just know it." She sounded so exasperated, Lucy couldn't help but feel guilty for driving the girl this far.

The two found themselves in silence once more, occupied by their own thoughts.

"You know, we don't have to keep doing this." Lucy finally said.

"What do you mean?" Levy asked as she cocked a brow at the blonde.

"Well, we're not really getting anywhere and Gajeel's beginning to catch a drift of what we're doing. It will only be a matter of time until he starts avoiding you." Lucy watched as fear flashed in Levy's eyes.

Levy probably wouldn't admit it, but her mood always went downhill whenever Gajeel left for a few days, be it for a mission or something else. The girl wasn't used to yearning like Lucy was, so every time it happened, it absolutely tore her apart.

It was obvious that no one in their right mind liked not being around their persons of interest. However, the feeling was worse for the both of them. While Bisca admitted that she detested being separated from Alzack, she didn't feel like her chest was slowly being torn to shreds. It was unfortunately one of the many symptoms that only the two shared.

"B-But we can't just stop _now_ ," The blunette said, her voice barely a whisper as she stared at Lucy wide eyed, _"_ not after everything we've done."

"But Gajeel-"

"Who gives a damn about that big lug?!" Levy exclaimed, causing a few heads from the next tables to turn their way, especially Gajeel who stood across the room.

"If he's going to avoid me then _fine_! I couldn't care less!"

Lucy knew she was lying, but she was shocked nonetheless. Whenever Levy lied, her nose would twitch and her breathing would shift. But this time, her breathing was shaky and began to come in shallow and heavy intervals.

Levy was scared _shitless_ from the mere idea of having the man avoid her, but if that's the price she'd have to pay then so be it. She knew that bastard knew something she didn't, and her pride would never allow her to let it go.

The third time the two found themselves in silence, the air was unbearably thick with suffocating tension. Not even Jet nor Droy dared to come near them to ask if they were okay.

"Just… Just give me some time." Levy asked quietly, her lips quivering as she kept her gaze fixed on the fixture between them. Lucy stared at her, eyes filled with worry as she examined the brunette's face.

"… Okay."

Levy's eyes widened in surprise as they snapped up to meet the blonde's.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up." Lucy smiled as she watch the blunette visibly relax.

"It's okay." Levy said as she returned to gesture, "And I'm sorry for blowing up like that."

"It's fine. I'm surprised we haven't done this sooner." The blonde laughed.

Natsu was her best friend, but boy was Lucy glad that Levy's competing for that spot. Who knows how much sanity she would have left without her?

"Boy, am I _relieved_ that you two made up so fast."

The both of them jumped, whipping their heads up so fast, their hair might have given them a whiplash. Cana only snickered as she slipped into the seat beside Lucy as she dragged a barrel to by the rim.

"I was starting to think I might've been too late to join you nerds." The brunette continued, proppiing her chin in the palm of her hand.

Lazily scanning over the messy table, eyes only pausing when it met the spine of Levy's book, Cana cocked a brow at the both of them.

"What's up? Boy problems?"

Levy and Lucy shared a hesitant look before nodding wordlessly. To their surprise, the card mage only huffed in agreement.

"I totally getcha'. I mean, one moment that bastard tells me to cut down on the booze then suddenly, he goes and gets himself a girlfriend on the next." Cana grumbed under her breath.

"I mean seriously, the nerve of the guy! Should learn to mind his own business if he's just gonna go and be a fucking _dickwad_." She exclaimed, her voice scathing as she shot a spiteful glare at Macao only for him to return the gesture with a confused look.

Satisfied that she somehow managed to catch his attention, she lifted her barrel and proudly gulped down a good portion from the opening in front of him. Slamming it back down on the floor, she let out a grunt, visibly happy when she saw that she earned a disapproving glare.

Lucy watched the exchange in surprise. She never thought she'd see the day Cana would openly argue with her drinking partner, even if it was somehow indirect.

The fact that Levy joined her surprised her even more.

"I _completely_ understand. I mean, does a girl have to _kill_ to get some information around here?!" Levy gave Gajeel a pointed glare after she intentionally made her last statement extra loud for him. This earned a lot looks from the guild which she completely ignored.

She then turned ripped her gaze away from the confused dragon slayer with a huff.

There was a flash of blue from the corner of their eyes and soon enough, Juvia had joined the group once she caught wind of their conversation.

"Gray-sama has been avoiding Juvia lately." The water mage added quietly, tears threatening to spill as she approached the table.

"Oh no, when did it start?" Lucy asked, her voice filled with sympathy.

"Since Juvia took Natsu's advice and showed up in his room through the window. Gray-sama was very shocked. And very angry…" She added the last part so quietly Lucy almost missed the last part.

 _Take it from Natsu to make the worst relationship advice in all of Earthland._

The three of them looked at Lucy expectantly. Shaking her head slightly, she sighed.

"I'm single and broke, need I say more?"

The three only nodded sympathetically, as if understanding her pain completely.

"Hey, you know what this means?" Cana quirked up, cathing the table's attention.

"We should go to a bar and get _absolutely wasted_."

Everyone looked at each other hesitantly. They all knew how Cana gets in drinking parties and they were unsure if this was something they should really participate.

"Come on, my treat." She added as she flashed them a wide grin.

This got their interest. Thinking about it for a few more seconds, Juvia and Levy finally agreed. Again, Lucy was the center of expectant attention.

"My break ends at three." Was all she could say.

The three looked at each other before Cana's face lit up.

"That's easy. Let's ask Mira." Without wasting another second, she turned around to face the bar.

"Hey Mira!" She called out, catching the take over mage's attention. She waved her hand, gesturing the woman to come over which she gracefully did.

"Do you need another barrel?" Mira asked as soon as she was in front of their table.

"Nah. Can Lucy get off early today?"

Mira frowned as she stared at Cana suspiciously.

"Why?"

"We're gonna go to a bar."

"You're in front of one."

" _Another_ bar."

Lucy watched as Mira shifted her gaze from her to Cana thoughtfully before smiling brightly.

"Sure! But that's two hours out of her paycheck." Mira said while Lucy cursed under her breath. Cana looked at her, eyes almost resembling that of a puppy.

"Come on, Lu! I'll give you 300 jewels. I'm literally _paying_ you to drink with us _._ "

Lucy stared at her, uncertainty written all over her face. Dread began to settle in her gut while her heart pounded against her chest, her hands clammy with sweat. She had a sinking feeling this whole thing would end badly and she knew better than to ignore her intuition.

Unfortunately, her resolve wavered when the puppy dog eyes tripled.

" _Fine_." She finally said, grumbling slightly. The girls cheered as soon as she agreed.

"Hey Mira, join us once you close. We'll be at Janey's til', I don't know, late." Lucy heard Cana behind her while she was being pushed outside.

"Alright. I won't be drinking much though."

"Oh well, more for us." Cana's laughter was the last thing she heard before she reached the outside of the guild.

That night, Lucy regretted not following her intuition.

* * *

 **Wow, I never thought I'd see the day I'd go beyond 2k words in a chapter. See, this is what happens when you drag your friends along to help you brainstorm the contents of the next chapter, you get unnecessarily motivated and finish one in 3 1/2 hours.**

 **Also, I would just like to inform everyone that I made some changes in the last chapter about the dates. Instead of it being the day of Team Natsu' embarked on their mission, it is now three days since _._ That is all, thank you. Hahaha.**

 **Just as promised, I have set an update schedule that will be followed starting next week. I will be sure to update chapters on the following days: _Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday._ **

**There's a chance that I will be updating earlier, however, but you will be sure to find an update on those days. This might change as school starts in June but I'll have to see with my schedule then before I make any changes to it.**

 **Again, thank you so much for your support! I'm really glad when I received notifications telling me that there was yet _another boost_ in the follow rates and the traffic. It's really nice to know that I somehow managed to catch a lot of your attention and was deemed worthy to follow, whether or not the site had it counted or not!**

 **But I can't say that this was all done alone, I would like to acknowledge a few of my friend for helping me with my story and sparing me some of their time to check over the chapter to filter the grammar, the characterization, and the pacing. I can't help but feel like I owe the story's success to them.**

 _ **Powwo: Yesss. Admittedly, I went through the same thing whenever I found myself developing feelings for someone I shouldn't. Especially, the last one. It honestly took a while for me to get over it. It was somehow more dramatic than how I word it right now. Hahahaha. And it's okay! The training at my university's publication actually helped me write shorter articles and stories, and how to maintain the pacing despite its length so I really couldn't have achieved this feat on my own. Hahahahaha. Also, I'm glad you liked that scene! Admittedly, it was somewhat impromptu and it was literally just a 'lol wth screw everything' moment for me. And aaall will be revealed soon, my dear. Hahaha. I hope you enjoy this one! :)**_

 _ **hertlerzsker: Dang, your username is difficult to type down hahahaha. I'm glad you enjoyed it! And thank you! I will :D**_

 **I should really shorten my Author's Notes. It's taking up a lot of word count, making the actual length very misleading hahaha.  
**

 **Scout, out!**


	6. Hangover

_**Chapter 5 - Hangover**_

"Well, that wasn't as hard as I thought."

Natsu ears perked up, sparing Lisanna a glance when she propped herself on the empty spot on his right, positioning herself comfortably on the grass.

"Aye! This is nothing compared to everyone we fought before!" Happy mused as he munched on his fresh catch of fish.

Natsu shrugged, disinterested.

"Been through worse, I guess."

"So I heard."

Natsu grunted, unable to find the appropriate response to keep the conversation going. It was awkward. Really, it was. And he didn't know why.

Awkward silences like these had settled between the two mages more than he'd actually admit.

Don't get him wrong, he was just as relieved as Mirajane and Elfman when he found out Lisanna returned.

It's just that he never found himself alone with the girl since there were always people in the guild. People he had to compete with for a conversation with Lisanna.

Time skip to two weeks later, he's suddenly having _more_ alone time with her than he bargained for. Not only that, he really didn't know what to do with the undivided attention she was giving him.

A certain blonde's presence – or the lack of thereof, only made it worse.

So instead of engaging in another poor attempt of small talk with the takeover mage, he allowed himself to be distracted by Gray, of all people.

They had just finished rounding up the rogue bandits that had been figuratively breeding in large numbers. The amount of butts they had to kick was practically more than enough to be considered a dark guild, especially with the crazy magic they got their hands on.

Natsu winced, recalling the pathetic excuse of a flame that he had consumed amidst a battle days before. It was like sand on his tongue and it took forever to get the aftertaste out of his mouth.

Still, they were just small fries compared to Eisenwald; the dark guild that provoked the formation of the team in the first place. Natsu didn't understand why Erza had to reform the group for something she could have easily done herself.

As a matter of fact, he didn't understand why she didn't tell him Lucy wasn't joining them.

The blonde told him that she just didn't feel like joining them, but one look on her face said a completely different story.

He glanced at the ex-quip mage who wasn't too far off from the scene. She was speaking to a knight about something, probably the reward money. He didn't really find himself caring. All he found himself caring about was the blonde he left behind at the guild, unwillingly might he add.

If Erza hadn't come to tell him this was Lisanna's first mission in two years, he wouldn't even be here.

" _You really don't want to come?"_

 _A wide smile that shook on the corners._

" _No."_

 _A doubtful look._

" _I'll be_ fine _, you doof. You guys have fun though!"_

Natsu pursed his lips as he returned his gaze to the ice mage. He continued to watch the jerk haul the last of the bandits into the cage-jail-cart _thing_ or whatever it was supposed to be called.

The dragon slayer frowned.

For some reason, it bothered him that he didn't know what it was called. As far as he was concerned, it was some sort of vehicle that served as a mini-jail until they get them to a real jail, or something. Lucy was usually there to supply him answers about these things, no matter how dumb it was.

Whatever. He'll just ask her when they get back.

"Natsu." He looked up Erza towering over him with the usual stoic look she had on her face.

"We must go. If we leave now, we can still report back to the guild before noon. You too, Lisanna." She said before turning on her heel promptly, expecting him to follow suit.

 _Ah, there it was._ The dragon slayer thought, not even bothering to stop the grin that etched itself on his face. _The roundabout way the scarlet-haired girl had of showing her concern._

Erza knew he wanted to see his partner as soon as possible, even if it meant ditching the group as soon as the mission was over. This was her way of apologizing to him and to Lucy. Maybe that's why the job was finished so soon. After all, Erza _did_ do most of the work.

Beside him, Lisanna got up as she brushed the dirt off her rear. Natsu missed the sad look she gave him as he got on his feet.

"I'm sorry."

He froze. It came off as a mumble but with Natsu's heightened hearing, he was sure he heard that right.

But why would Lisanna apologize, and what for?

Natsu turned to scrutinize her face which had immediately morphed to a happier expression.

"Let's go?" She prompted, gently squeezing his arm before she left to walk ahead of him. His gaze followed her, confusion evident in his eyes.

"Wait-" He started but was immediately interrupted by the exceed.

"Natsu." Happy whined beside him, quickly snapping him out of his reverie.

"Let's go, already! I wanna see Charle!"

Natsu blinked once, then twice. Then he began to chuckle, his body shaking in bottled up laughter.

It amused him to no end how his cat – no, _exceed_ could openly show his affections and be so blatant about it.

He ignored Happy's exasperated _'Don't laugh!'_ when he noticed the ice mage approach Lisanna.

"How long does the train ride go again?" He heard Gray ask as soon as he was within her hearing rage. Natsu could swear he saw the guy spare him a glance, a ghost smirk on his lips.

He glared.

"I think it was around two and a half hours, why?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to know."

The ice mage as he blatantly stared at Natsu, not even trying to conceal his smirk. He'd go there and punch the smirk out of his face if he didn't already feel sick from the mere idea of transportation.

Natsu gurgled, already seeing green when Gray's snickering filled his ears.

 _Oh, he was_ so _gonna get it. But first…_

He wretched, running to the nearest bush and hurled his breakfast into leaves.

"Natsu!" He heard Lisanna scream in horror while the raven-haired douchebag roared in laughter.

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Lucy stumbled into the guild halls, barely catching hold of the doorway before she could meet the floor face first.

This of course, worsened the pounding in her head.

She cussed under her breath as she winced from the pain. Quickly gathering herself, she groggily made her way to the bar.

She collapsed on the counter as soon as she arrived, cushioning her head with her arm while she resisted the urge to stab herself with a kitchen knife.

Normally, she had Natsu to help with these things. He knew exactly what to do to make the hangover go away. He'd whip up the perfect hangover smoothie and rub her head until it felt better.

Except he's not here and she had no way of knowing when he'll be coming back.

Lucy groaned.

How she planned to survive lunch hour this time, she didn't know. As far as she's concerned, she's screwed sideways anyway.

Memories from the night before came in scattered fragments, not even following a timeline anymore.

Lucy flushed a deep shade of red, remembering her assault on Loke while he assisted her home. Well, that settles one thing. She won't be summoning him anytime soon.

The pounding in her head had yet to cease and she can finally with utmost surety that this week had been one of the worst weeks in her life.

"Hey, Lucy!"

Lucy groaned in pain as the sound of Mira's greeting rang painfully in her ears, making loud echoes in her brain.

"Not so loud." She drawled as she shifted her position to look at the white-haired mage who look more than amused at her pain.

Sadist. At least one of them is happy.

"Wow, Cana really got you good, huh." Mirajane mused as she watched the blonde struggle to sit up straight.

"You tell me. You were barely tipsy last night." Lucy replied, vaguely remembering a sober Mirajane amidst the drinking.

She remembered Bisca there as well, not really sure how nor why.

"Believe me, I had just as much as you did last night. I just hold my liquor surprisingly well."

The celestial mage made a whining noise before she stumbled to her feet. Before she could climb over the counter to start her shift, Mira immediately stopped her.

"What do you think you're doing?" The takeover mage asked.

Lucy gave her a somewhat confused stare while she shifted her gaze to the counter then back to her.

"Going to work. What does it look like?" She finally answered.

"Nuh uh, you're staying home today."

"Mira, I'm fine. I'm perfectly sure that I'm capable of working today-"

"Nope. You are going home. Take the day off, you hungover doof." Mirajane said as she got out went over the counter and began ushering the blonde out.

"But Mira-"

"Don't 'but Mira' me. Out."

With a push on the back, Lucy was stumbling to her feet and outside the guild doors. Hearing the guild doors' hinges whine as they slammed to close, she sighed.

Lucy shook her head slightly and made her way home to sleep through the hangover.

Mavis, she hoped Natsu would come home soon.

* * *

As soon as the team stepped into the guild, the fire dragon slayer immediately made a beeline for the bar. To his surprise, he only found Mirajane tending to the bar, alone

"Where's Lucy?" He asked as he looked around.

"At home, I suspect." The older takeover mage giggled behind her fingers, "It was a pretty wild night."

"What do you mean? Did she go on a mission without me?"

Before Mirajane could reply, Natsu found himself locked under a drunken Wakaba's arm who was laughing boisterously.

"Hey, hey, hey Natsu. Have you heard?" The older man asked, his words slurring incoherently.

"Heard what?" He asked albeit wrinkled his nose in disgust when he caught a strong whiff of the alcohol.

"Lucy's got herself a _boooooooy_ friend."

At this, Natsu raised a brow at Wakaba.

"She got herself a what?" Natsu repeated, barely making out Wakaba's first words only for it end with a 'buuuooooooooyfrun'

"A boyfriend!" Wakaba exclaimed, more coherently this time.

Seeing the disbelieving look on Natsu's, he immediately nodded his head, making his pompadour bob up and down.

"It's true, it's true! I saw her walking with Loke with my own two eyes!"

"So? He's her celestial spirit, doesn't mean they're involved." Natsu didn't notice the frown that had began to settle on his features. The man's words were barely making any sense.

"Nah man, I saw them. They lip-locked and it looked _really heated_ if you ask me. I think it was even Lucy who initiated it." Wakaba then tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"But then again, she did look hella wasted."

Suddenly, the drunken man froze then squeaked before scrambling back to his table with Macao, who was equally drunk.

It was then when he felt a killing intent in front of him. Ignoring the goosebumps running up his back, he turned his head only to find a smiling Mirajane and the menacing aura gone.

"Ignore him. You should know better than to listen to a drunk man." was all she said before she returned to wipe the counter.

"Hey, Mira." He began, catching the barmaid's attention.

"Yes?"

"What happened last night?" Natsu asked.

The white-haired woman froze as uncertainty flashed in her face. He had to blink to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him since the look disappeared as fast as it came.

"Nothing much, really. Cana treated the girls to some drinks at Janey's, that's all."

Natsu had to stop himself from palming his face when he heard that. He knew how much 'some' was to the drunk and that amount was more enough to get people passed out on the counter.

"Why at Janey's?" He asked, "Couldn't they just drink here?"

"Well, the contents of their discussion were _pretty_ interesting. Guess they knew better than to keep it within the guild's earshot." The woman chuckled.

"Why? What were they talking about?"

Mirajane hummed knowingly before replying a vague, "Who knows?"

Natsu frowned thoughtfully as he recalled how the blonde usually gets in hangovers. He'll have to stop by at her place (not like he never does) to whip her up some good Hangover Begone smoothies.

He stopped, his brows furrowing deeper.

If Wakaba was right and Lucy _was_ dating Loke, then wouldn't he be intruding?

Natsu was reckless but he sure as hell wasn't stupid. But then again, what's better to do than to confirm the rumor himself?

"Mirajane."

He jumped. Looking up, he saw the ex-quip mage stand beside him as she returned the flyer to the barmaid.

"Erza." Mirajane nodded as she took the paper in her hands, "So I take it that the mission was a success?"

"It was only a few bandits. I think I might have overpowered the team for this." Erza replied as she took her seat next to him.

"Can you get me an entire strawberry cake, Mira? Please?"

Mira nodded, eyeing the mage carefully. Never in her life did she hear the girl say please to her. Not even once.

As soon as Mirajane left, Erza then sighed. An indescribable look began to settle on her face.

Natsu frowned. Erza never sighed. _Never._ He can't even recall if there was a time when she actually did.

"Where's Lucy?" She asked, making him jump in his seat.

"At home." He answered as he fixed her in a stare.

Erza then nodded then stared at the counter top.

The dragon slayer fidgeted, unsure of what to do next. He could leave but he was afraid to insult the mage and Natsu wasn't good with words either.

Might as well do the thing he did best.

"ERZA FIGHT ME." He boomed, catching the entire guild's attention.

People murmured to each other as they anticipated her reply. Erza simply looked at him then sighed again.

"Next time, Natsu. Just… not today." Was all she said before she stared somberly at the counter.

His face fell.

To say that he was surprised was an understatement, and it would seem that he wasn't the only one. Behind him, the guild buzzed with newfound gossip.

Everyone knew the Titania could take him down in one hit if she wasn't in the mood, but being completely docile? Impossible.

Squirming uncomfortably, Natsu excused himself saying that he was going to go visit Lucy. The ex-quip mage only nodded in reply.

The dragon slayer quickly slipped out of his seat, not wanting to waste a second longer before he made his way to the guild doors.

Just as he passed by Macao's table, he suddenly he felt a sharp sting from his rear. Whipping his head back, he found a smirking Conbolt giving him a thumbs up.

"Go get her, tiger."

Natsu only cocked a brow at them while rubbing his backside. He turned his back to them, muttering about how weird they were being before he left the building and made his way down Strawberry Street.

* * *

 **Wow, this chapter was significantly difficult to write. Now let's play a game of guess which part did I write properly, which part did I write in the hype of a sugar rush at 3AM, and which part it began to wear off. Come on, I'll get ya a prize. If you guess properly, I'll write ya a oneshot of your prompt (NaLu-centered most preferably, I don't really feel like focusing on another pairing).**

 _ **Powwo: Hell of a troll, really. It got me writing sappy shit and reading Lang Leav poetry. Not that I regret it. Some of them were actually my best works. It reminds me of that quote that sorta went like this: "I only write when I'm falling in love or falling apart". Ahhhhhhh, I'm really bad at action scenes! Those are my weakest point in writing, no doubt. Maybe you can teach me for future reference? Hehe. Also, I'm really glad that you're enjoying this! I have to admit, your reviews never fail to make my day :')**_

 _ **hertlerzsker: Hey there, friend! I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't as wild as you hoped ahahaha. I hope you enjoyed it anyway! It didn't really go as I imagined either, but I'll do my best make it up in the next chapter. It's a promise! :)**_

 _ **brunette 1501: I'm really glad that you enjoyed the story! I'm a little confused tho with what you meant with 'lucy knows before natsu' hahahaha. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well since you seem really excited about it :')**_

 **By the way, guys! I'm currently in search of a betareader who is well-versed with the world (most especially the characters of FT) and is willing to lend me a hand in the production of the future chapters. I'm also going to need an editor who won't exactly judge me for my shitty writing so if you think you're either one or even both, feel free to pm me!**

 **I don't exactly know how I'm going to repay your hard work for this since all I can offer you is my raw chapters and my friendship ;; w ;;**

 **Don't forget to leave a review! Your thoughts about the story matter a whole lot to me, especially the (polite) constructive criticisms. They're are usually one of the things what fuels me to keep going. No need to be shy, I don't bite :)**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and keep staying tuned for the next one.**

 **Scout, out!**


	7. Mistakes Made

**Hi guys! I just wanted to mention that I edited a bit in the last part during Natsu's POV (the one while they're in the mission) because I forgot to add a few lines that might be relevant to the story and the character development (especially with Erza since she's being so confusing and misunderstood and all hehe). Feel free to check it out if you have the time!  
**

 **Anyway, on with the story.**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7 - Mistakes Made**_

" _Hey, Lucy." Cana drawled as she slumped her elbow over the blonde's shoulder, her words slurring slightly._

" _Mmm yeah?" Lucy looked over with a dazed look on her face._

" _Ya' never told us his name."_

 _Lucy frowned, confused. She felt incredibly light-headed and her train of thought was low on coal._

" _Who're we talkin' about?" She asked._

" _Ya' know, the dude who's got 'yer knickers up in a twist."_

" _Ehhhh. Why would ya' want ta know 'bout that twat?"_

" _Is it Loke?"_

" _Pfffffff, hell naw."_

" _Oh, how you hurt me, Lucy."_

" _Sh't up, Loke. 'm talkin' to Cana."_

" _So who's the boy? C'mon, tell us!"_

" _Lucy, let's go. We need to put you to bed before you drink anymore." Loke stated firmly as he grabbed the wobbling drunken blonde's arms just before she could stumble on her heels._

 _Lucy burst into a fit of giggles over her silliness._

" _It's Natsu, ain't it? I caught ya' oglin' at him last week."_

 _Lucy kept giggling while Loke ushered her out the door._

" _Yep!" She giggled drunkenly, "It's him! His body's puurrfect!"_

 _The group behind her burst into boisterous laughter just as they got out of the tavern._

" _Lucy, come on. We need to go."_

" _I'd tap that ass when he gets back if I were you!" She heard Cana call out._

 _Lucy hiccupped, "I will!"_

* * *

The curtains softly brushed her face, tickling her skin as it fluttered in the wind. The sunlight glared from the windows as its bright rays shined through the room. Lucy's eyebrow twitched just as the curtain touched her skin once more.

Grumbling softly, she turned to her side and reached her hand down to pull her covers over head. Her brows knitted to a deep frown when her fingers didn't meet the sheets.

Lucy sat up; eyes remained closed as she began to search the bed for her sheets blindly. She ignored the insistent pounding on the back of her head as she patted around her bed.

She let out a delighted sigh as soon as she found her covers and began to slide her legs under the sheets.

Lucy froze, her heart skipping a beat as soon as she heard a snicker at her right.

 _Oh, come_ _ **on.**_ The blonde groaned loudly in her throat.

Can she not have just _one whole day_ of absolute peace? Was that really too much to ask?

Throwing an annoyed scowl at the direction of the sniggering, she defiantly propped herself back on the bed before burying her face into her pillows. She then pulled her sheets up to cover herself from head to toe, not giving a damn if she looked like a huge bump on her bed.

"Oh come on, Luce. Is that a way to greet your best friend?"

"Go 'way. I dun' hav' a bes' frien'." She groaned from the bundle, her voice muffled.

"Now, you're just being mean. How 'bout saying 'You're back' for one?"

"You're back. Please leave."

She heard an amused sigh then a creak as her intruder rose from his seat.

At this point, Lucy was incredibly hyper aware, becoming more and more anxious as she anticipated his next move. She turned raised her head slightly, allowing herself to breathe.

Lucy's heart pounded in her chest as she felt his hands touch her above the sheets and with one harsh pull, the fabric left her body. She yelped, instantly missing the comfort of her covers.

Almost immediately, the blinding rays of the sun struck her face. Lucy never felt more offended in her life.

"Dear mama in heaven, please turn off the _sun!_ " She shrieked as she grabbed her pillow and buried herself underneath it.

Lucy whimpered as she felt the pillow leave her face as well, allowing the light to offend her once more.

" _Nooo!"_ The celestial mage whined as she raised her arms up to shield her face.

"Fine then. If you're gonna be like that, then I guess you won't be needing this." As if on cue, she heard the swishing of liquid in a cup.

Lucy's eyes snapped open, meeting onyx ones before it looked down to find that it was indeed the legendary Hangover smoothie in his hand.

The blonde reached out only for the dragon slayer to pull it back.

"Nuh uh. You hurt my feelings." He stated as a matter-of-factly, barely concealing the smirk on his lips.

"You're back. I'm sorry. Please stay."

Natsu threw his back as he laughed, handing over the smoothie to the blonde who grabbed it greedily. She sighed in satisfaction as soon as the cool taste of strawberry and milk met her taste buds.

Lucy then watched as the dragon slayer seated himself on the foot of the bed. He gestured her to come over with one hand and patted on his lap with another.

She wordlessly obeyed as she laid her head down on his lap, somehow maneuvering the drink to keep it from spilling. Lucy sighed happily as soon as his fingers began kneading through her hair.

"How was the mission?" She asked, purring slightly when he hit a sweet spot.

"Eh. It was okay, I guess. They were like, really weak!" Natsu replied exasperatedly. Lucy could almost taste the dissatisfaction in his tone.

"You took an entire week though." She stated then whimpered when Natsu's fingers stopped.

"Yeah, but that's 'cos there were a lot of 'em. Honestly, it was a bitch to trace 'em all down. We had to take another train to Hargeon because they had another base there." He said, scrunching his nose at the memory before he resumed his rubbing.

"That's good. It's good that you're back safe." She mumbled under her breath as she relaxed, her eyes threatening to close.

When he noticed the blonde's steady breathing, Natsu reached for the cup, pausing as he waited for an objection that never came then took it off her hands before setting it on the windowsill.

"Hey, Luce."

"Yeah?"

"Did you get a boyfriend while I was gone?"

"Hmm? Why would you think that?"

"Wakaba told me he saw you kiss Loke last night."

The blonde visibly tensed.

Natsu almost regretted asking the question just as an uncomfortable silence settled between them. He felt even worse when he felt her begin to shake on his lap but to his surprise, the celestial mage burst out into a fit of laughter.

"W-Why are you laughing?"

"Natsu, I would _never_ date that playboy of a celestial spirit. Not even in a million years!"

Suddenly, there was a flash of bright light. In the corner of the room was the devil himself in a suit and tie.

"That's so harsh of you, Lucy. After we shared such a passionate kiss by the bridge – " And just as fast as he came, Loke disappeared .

Lucy sighed. She was too tired to open gates today, much less force them to close.

A pregnant silence ensued.

"I also heard you initiated it."

"Oh my God, please don't remind me." The blonde groaned as she covered her face in shame. She heard Natsu laugh above her, amused by her embarrassment.

"Why would you care though?" She asked as she raised a brow at him. Natsu never really minded her love life and never cared to ask for the details.

"Not really. To be honest, I don't really care whose throat you decide to shove your tongue in."

Lucy flinched, her blood running cold as soon as the words left his lips.

"I just wanted to know if I was going to have to share my partner with anyone soon." He continued, "I don't want to accidentally overstep any boundaries."

The blonde began to tremble as she bit her lip. Her eyes stung and it took everything to keep the tears from falling.

 _I don't really care whose throat you decide to shove your tongue in._

 _I don't really care._

 _I don't care._

She rose from her position and slipped off the bed as she walked across the room, putting as much distance between them as possible.

"Luce, what's wrong?" He asked, worry dripping from his voice.

Lucy couldn't stop shaking. She couldn't stop the anger and the hurt bubbling in her chest. She didn't even notice that she was holding her breath.

"Get out." The blonde managed to choke out.

"What? Why? I'm not even done – "

" _Get. Out."_ She growled threateningly.

Natsu, despite the confusion written all over his face, immediately scrambled out of her room. Jumping out the window not before tripping on her bed.

As soon as he left the room, the tears she tried so hard to hold back freely streamed down her cheeks as she felt her chest tighten painfully.

Outside, Natsu had smacked his forehead hard for his stupidity. He only realized then how insulting his words had been. He gave her window a lingering glance, frowning deeply when Lucy's choked up sobs soon filled his ears.

As much as he wanted to get back up there and comfort her, he couldn't. It was his fault she was crying after all.

With shoulder slumped, Natsu began to make his way back to the guild as he heaved a frustrated sigh.

He really could have worded that better.

* * *

 _Loke was on his knees as he tried to take off the blonde's killer wedges before she could sprain her ankle. Lucy was seated on the edge of the bridge while swinging her legs back and forth, making the celestial spirit's job harder than it already was._

" _Lucy,_ _ **please**_ _." Loke requested as politely as he could, though it came out more of an irritated demand._

 _Lucy stopped, giggling a 'sorry' before she looked up to stare at the sky. Finally, Loke unsnapped the lock and took her heels off with ease._

" _You can come off now." He said. Lucy only nodded before jumping off._

 _Bad move._

 _Luckily for her, Loke managed to wrap his arms around her waist before she could meet the asphalt face first. Blinking multiple times, the celestial spirit mage began giggling uncontrollably before she looked up at her savior._

" _Thank you!" She squealed as she reached out to cup the celestial spirit's face in her hands before pulling him in to meet her lips._

 _Loke's eyes widened in surprise before he reflexively deepened the kiss. And just as realization struck, he froze._

 _This was wrong. This was all too wrong._

 _A low moan grew in his throat and Loke knew he had to pull away. So he did, eliciting a whine in response._

 _He couldn't do this. Not to her. Not especially when she was like this._

" ' _m sorry, Natsu." Loke stiffened when he heard her mumble under her breath._

 _He watched with wide eyes as she mumbled more incoherent things before promptly passing out in his arm, a soft snore passing through her lips._

 _With a sad smile, he cradled her shoulders as he bent down to hook an arm behind her knees. He then lifted Lucy in one swift motion._

" _Alright-y then, princess, let's get you home."_

* * *

 **...**

 **Please don't kill me.**

 **Though I have to be honest, this is the second time I had to write this Author's Note since the browser suddenly decided to close on me so those heartfelt responses I wrote for your fabulous reviews? Yeah, I'm going to have to write them again. *Deep sighing**

 **But really though, guys. Do I thank you enough? Because it really feels like I don't thank you enough. To be completely honest, I am actually surprised by the feedback I'm getting with this story - not that I'm complaining. I'm absolutely overjoyed. I never thought I'd see the day I'd receive this much follows and favorites and most of all, reviews. Tell me the truth, do I thank you enough? Because I don't think I thank you enough for keeping me going.**

 _ **OgaxHilda: Woops, I think you're going to hate me more with this update then hihi. And thanks! I'm really glad you enjoyed this story! :)**_

 _ **DioBlackfang: Daww, thank you! And stop it, you're making me blush. Eheh. Also, I'm really glad you think so! It's honestly my first time going with this approach so I'm really relieved that it wasn't a bad move on my part. Anyway, thanks again! I'm really glad you enjoyed this story and I seriously hope I can keep you tuned to it. ;; v ;;**_

 _ **Dark Shining Light: Oh. My. God. Senpai noticed me, holy shit. Wait give me a second, I'm not physically ready for this. Oh my God. *clears throat* Right. Now that we have that out of the way... Man, am I RELIEVED that I managed to keep your interest in the succeeding chapters. To be honest, you were the second person to bring up the misleading summary part so I might really have to re-do it soon. I'm really glad that you pointed that out, really. Also, about the title... I was actually listening to Tove Lo's Talking Body while I was writing the entirety of chapter one (which sort of explains how thirsty Lucy came off oops) and I don't know, it just kind of stuck. My original intention was too have my take on the infamous Post-Edolas concept wherein Lucy's supposedly kicked off the team and replaced by Lisanna (so she leaves the guild or something but I am definitely going to skip that bit) but then a better plot came to mind and I guess it just stuck? Eheh. Also, thank you! I'm really glad you decided to follow the story! It really means a lot to me ;; w ;;**_

 _ **Powwo: I used to be really big in the whole character death department (proof of which is the aforementioned PJO fic which is mostly OC-centered) but ever since I stumbled upon Gantz, Shingeki No Kyojin, and Tokyo Ghoul, I just realized that I'm not too big on having my hopes crushed and became a sucker for happy endings ;; w ;; Also, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! I originally intended to give Natsu just a few dialogue lines but decided to give him an entire POV instead because it just made sense. I wanted the readers to get his side of the story too just how I gave Lisanna hers. Eheh. Thanks again! You never fail to make my day. ;; u ;;**_

 _ **fanficlove2014: Wow, you're on a roll tonight! Though I have to be honest, your consecutive reviews really made me smile a lot. Not to mention your last review which inspired me to answer some of your questions (AKA opening scene and ending scene). Honestly though, I'm lucky I read that before I decided to post the chapter so really, thank you. I'm really glad you enjoyed this story! I hope I can keep you tuned in 'til the end :)**_

 **Wow, that's quite a lot of reviews this time. Not that I'm complaining, I'm really happy actually. Hihi.  
**

 **Honestly tho, I'm updating as much as I can since my family vacation is going to be real soon (May 20-30 for those who don't know yet) and the fact that my classes will begin in June 8 as well (damn you, college).**

 **Anyway, please don't forget to leave a review and click favorite and follow if you haven't yet. Seriously, small gestures like these make a really happy scout ;)**

 **Scout, out!**


	8. So Stupid

**_Chapter 8 - So Stupid_**

Mirajane wiped the wet glass with a dishcloth as she looked over the hall warily. Something was wrong. She couldn't point her finger on what it was but her gut told her that something was off. Mirajane always knew better than to doubt her intuition.

Perhaps it's because a good majority of the guild members had gone off to take some missions? The Job Board _was_ particularly empty. Quiet days like these were rare for Fairy Tail, but that doesn't mean the takeover mage had not grown accustomed to it over the years.

But that wasn't it. There was something else.

She looked over to the right to find Levy pouring herself all over her research like she had been for the past week. Across her was Lucy who had just gone on break not too long ago. Jet and Droy were seated at the table next to theirs, playing a good game of poker with Max and her brother, Elfman.

She let her eyes wander around, observant as the remaining members did their usual activities.

Reedus was by the counter, sketching the rare sight of the nearly empty guild while the ever-so-present Nab actually went on a job for once. Gray was seated at the back, engaged in an actual conversation with the water mage. Gajeel sat at the table by the corner (which had a perfect view of a certain solid script mage) while the exceeds were gathered in one table. Wendy sat across the iron dragon slayer, making a pyramid with her own set of cards.

But that still wasn't it. Mirajane still couldn't figure out what was wrong with the scene.

Finally, her eyes fell on the pink-haired dragon slayer who was seated by himself, glaring pensively at the table top.

She watched as he would sometimes look over across the room, heave a sigh, and then return to glaring at the wooden surface.

Mirajane decided to follow his eyes the next time he did and to her surprise, she saw the celestial mage not-so-subtly sneak glances at the boy and whenever their eyes met, she would pointedly look away with an angry huff.

The takeover mage couldn't help but arch a brow at the sight.

It was odd. It was very odd indeed.

"Lisanna?"

"Yes?" Her sister called out, her head popping out of the backroom.

"Watch the bar for me, will you? I'll be back in just a bit." Mira requested as she kept the dishcloth and slipped the apron off her waist.

"Don't take too long!"

Mira distractedly nodded before she left the counter and made her way to the distressed dragon slayer.

"Okay, spill." She said as soon as she slipped into the seat across his.

Natsu immediately shot his head up and began telling her everything that had happened since the day before until now. The takeover mage listened intently while he gestured his hands animatedly as he went on the story in full detail.

As much as Mira wanted to scream in delight for the two's relationship progress, she wanted to knock the boy over the head before slamming it on the table for his stupidity.

When he finished, all she could do was release an irritated sigh.

Natsu was tactless and naïve. _That,_ she knew.

But to this extent? Now he was just pushing it.

This wasn't the first time the boy ran his mouth without thinking about the consequences. Really, it wasn't. But for _Mavis' sake_ , the brat should have at least learned to _think a little_ after the pounding he received from not only Erza and herself, but pretty much everyone in the guild over the years.

"Why are you so stupid?" She asked. Her voice dripped with resignation as she buried her forehead in the palm of her hand.

"That's – !" Natsu started but stopped when Mirajane shot him a warning look. He gulped then immediately sank into his seat.

" – what I was wondering myself." He finished, laughing nervously. Mirajane stared at him for a moment before groaning in frustration.

"Why are you so stupid?"

Natsu flinch when she repeated the question. This time, he was wiser and held his tongue at the insult.

"You don't just… you can't just… _for fuck's sake."_

A shudder ran up Natsu's spine in fear when he heard Mira growl dangerously under her breath. It was rare to see her like this but when she did… He didn't even want to remember the last time she did.

Blood was shed that night, that's for sure.

Natsu watched as she barely managed to choke out a coherent sentence due to her anger.

"You don't just _say_ those things, Natsu!" She finally managed to exclaim as her eyes flickered to Satan Soul's then back to her own.

The dragon slayer only lowered his head in shame as he silently took the verbal pounding.

"Why are you so _fucking stupid_?" Mirajane groaned in absolute frustration as she buried her face into her hands.

She sighed again as silence ensued between them. She knew Natsu was anticipating another reaction – Hell, she could literally hear his feet shuffle restlessly under the table, but she needed to just sit there and just calm the fuck down. It took _all_ of her (and at least three sets of breathing exercises) to resist the overwhelming urge to transform into Satan Soul and just beat the living hell out of the dragon slayer.

She's done it before; nothing's going to stop her from doing it again. Except Lisanna.

 _Lisanna._ She thought as her brows knitted into a deep frown.

No, she needed to control for herself. In the two years she lost Lisanna, she had changed and grown more mature in terms of dealing with things. She had to show to her sister that she had a better sense of self-control.

Mirajane heaved a deep sigh before she met his onyx orbs with a hard glare.

"Well?" She asked as she raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Well what?"

"Well, I'm sure you don't plan to just sit here and let everything blow over." She stated as she rolled her eyes at the stupidity of the idea.

From the look on Natsu's face, she knew that he was planning just that.

"What do you plan to do now?" She asked as she propped her chin on the palm of her hand.

Natsu was quiet for a while, thinking hard about before his posture gradually slumped.

"I don't know." He finally said, "I was hoping you'd tell me. You usually know what to do with these things."

"Well, I never really had to deal with idiots who have the audacity to tell their best friends that they don't give the _slightest damn_ with whose throat she shoved her tongue in." Mirajane snapped.

"Seriously though, are you sure you weren't dropped on the head as a baby?" She asked as she eyed the boy distastefully.

Natsu's jaw tightened as his hands clenched to a fist. Now this was just uncalled for.

"Or maybe you're just recovering from a mild concussion that no one knows about because honestly, you can't be _this_ stupid – "

"Mira, if you're just going to insult me instead of helping then I'm gonna leave." Natsu began to get on his feet when the takeover mage's voice forced his blood to run cold.

" _Take one step and I will maul you._ "

She glared at him fiercely, promising him a world of pain if he dared disobey. With a gulp, he cautiously sat back down as he eyed Mirajane warily.

As soon as he did, Mirajane couldn't help but sigh for the umpteenth time, her features relaxing.

"Have you tried oh, I don't know…" Mirajane mockingly tapped her chin thoughtfully, "apologizing?"

"Actually, I haven't."

Before she could bring out her claws and maul him to death, he quickly added, "But with good reason!"

" _Oh, it better be good."_ He heard her mutter under her breath.

"I tried approaching her today. Like, a lot." The look on Natsu's face was enough to snap Mirajane out of her fury.

"Why didn't you do it yesterday while it was still fresh?" She asked.

"That's exactly why I didn't. It's fresh and not to mention, it was my fault. I'm not stupid, Mira."

Mira opened her mouth then closed it again, looking like a fish out of water. The look he gave her as he said the last statement sent a whirpool of guilt inside the takeover mage's gut. Before she could find her words, Natsu decided to continue.

"But hell, she won't even look at me," He grunted as a scowl made its way to his face, "and pretended I didn't exist for the rest of the day. I even stood in front of her at one point to block her way but nope, she just walked past me like I wasn't even there."

Mirajane's eyes softened as she stared at him sympathetically. She reached an arm across the table and enveloped his hand in hers. She gave him a small smile despite the wary look on his face.

"Honestly, can you blame her?"

"No." His gaze fell to the table, "And I don't."

Mirajane smiled as she stroked his knuckles with her thumb. She couldn't stay mad at him. Especially not when he's already suffering like this. Knowing Natsu, he's probably upturned every knob in his brain to figure things out when really, the answer was so simple.

And the two of them were so dense, she just wanted to lock them up in the back room until they gave her a goddaughter.

"But you want to apologize, right?" She asked him.

"Right."

"Well, what are you waiting for? She's right there and she won't be going anywhere."

"You're right." Natsu started as he began to scramble out of his seat, "You're right, I should go apologize while I still can."

"Go!" Mira giggled as she gave his shoulder an encouraging look.

As soon as she finished, panic bubbled up her chest as the realization struck. Natsu wasn't good with words and to get the message across to someone like Lucy, you need a lot of them.

"Wait a second, do you even know what to say?" She called out before he got too far.

"Didn't know you took me as someone who practices his speeches, Mira." He laughed, giving her a wave as he made his way across the guild hall and to where the blonde was.

"You're right. That was dumb. Go get her, tiger." She smiled as she watched his back.

The anger she felt before was long lost and nothing else mattered to her more at this moment. With the exception of the bar, of course. With a slight skip on her step, Mira happily hummed as she made her way back to her spot.

"What was that all about?" Lisanna asked as soon as her sister approached the counter.

"Oh, nothing! Just a lovers' dispute." Mirajane mused in reply as she waved her off.

"Lovers' dispute?" The younger white haired mage repeated, her eyes narrowing when her gaze landed on the pink haired dragon slayer who was approaching Lucy's table with a determined smile.

In contrast, Lucy and Levy looked like they were in a very heated discussion.

For some reason, she couldn't shake off the bad feeling that had settled in her gut. Her brows furrowed in worry when she watched the whole scene begin to unfold. In a split decision, her ears transformed to that of a cat's, perking attentively to the blonde's direction.

Lisanna was never fond of eavesdropping but she wanted to know what was going on. The mage frowned when her ears began to pick up Lucy's words just as Natsu entered their vicinity.

" _If he doesn't care then fine! Likewise! He can just leave like all of them!"_

" _Lucy, you're overreacting – "_

" _He can go fuck around with every girl in Fiore if he wants to and I wouldn't give a_ _ **damn**_."

Her breath hitched while her eyes widened in horror. She stared at the dragon slayer who had frozen in his tracks as he stood right behind the blonde.

Oh no.

Oh dear.

He _heard_ her.

* * *

 **Shiiiiiiiiiit this chapter was _so difficult_ to write.**

 **Legit, took me about four days because for (1) I didn't know what I wanted and I wasn't sure about how I wanted the story to go, (2) I was researching their characters so that I wouldn't risk them being OOC which only gave me an identity crisis, (3) My brother has been around lately and I really don't want him to find out about my return to fanfiction because he's a chastising bastard and I really don't need his shit right now, and (4) two birthday parties in a row, man. Looks like some people had a busy August.**

 **Not to mention that I'll be disappearing for ten days starting this Wednesday. Dear Lord, I hope they have internet to where we're going and my parents won't nag me if I give the laptop more attention than they think I should.**

 _ **Dark Shining Light: Ehh I'm glad I didn't scare you away with my fawning! But really though, it's only right that I recognize you. Your stories are really well written and the concepts are so beautiful I just can't. And I'm really glad you think so! Really, thank you! I had my doubts about this story since this is**_ **that _cliche we're talking about and I noticed that a lot of people had grown to detest it so I'm really relieved that my version of the concept somehow gave justice to the fandom. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And I'm sorry for the cliffhanger. Again. :)_**

 ** _D-Chan3: Oh dear, that's quite a request ^^" I'll do my best to give you one of those chapters tho I hate to break it to you that it won't be happening soon. :( Probably after the whole conflict which, unfortunately, won't blow over that fast. I'm glad you enjoyed the story tho! Thank you so much! ;; w ;;_**

 ** _Mia Anime: I'm really glad you think so! It was my intention to make it as realistic as possible and I'm glad that my plot twists still managed to give the story justice. And yesss, Lisanna is such a sweet girl. It's difficult to antagonize her. I'm really glad you enjoyed the story!_**

 **I'm sorry I can't respond to all of the reviews! There were quite a lot this time and it would honestly take a lot of space to respond to them all. For those I didn't respond here, you can expect a PM in your inbox some time soon. :)**

 **Again, I'm sorry for the really late update! Oh, and the cliffhanger too. Oops.**

 **Scout, out!**


	9. Girl Brawl

**_Chapter 8 - Girl Brawl_**

Lucy was not stupid.

She overreacted and she knew it.

However, sheer knowledge on the extent of her reaction was not enough reason to quench her anger. She knew it was unwarranted, but she couldn't help the overwhelming surge of fury pump into her veins whenever she thought of his face.

So what if he didn't care? It's not like he should. He was her best friend and nothing more. Her romantic life shouldn't be an issue to him and neither should his to her.

Unless of course, it was an abusive relationship and one of them had to leave it asap.

" _I don't really care about whose throat you decide to shove your tongue in."_

A vein throbbed on her forehead in the memory but immediately disappeared when she remembered the next line.

" _I just wanted to know if I was going to have to share my partner with anyone soon. I don't want to accidentally overstep any boundaries."_

It was sweet that he cared enough to ask her about where he stands in her life but still.

The thought itself made the blonde absolutely _furious_.

The way he said it made her sound like she was so… _crass._ Like she didn't do anything better with her spend time other than chase boys and make out.

 _I don't really care… I just wanted to know…_ He was such a selfish _**brat**_ who was too naïve to know the difference between doing it right and just plain overdoing it.

Why did she care so much anyway?

Natsu was always selfish and bratty and in all honesty, he's said worse things. He was a manipulative son of a bitch who would do absolutely anything to get what he wanted.

The only reason she stayed by his side despite that was because he was _so much more_ than that and she knew it. He'd risk his own life for his team mates and fought until he was dead just to revive the justice lost.

She owed him so much.

Lucy frowned, surprised by the complete 180 her train of thought did. She was mad at him. _Furious_ , even. But for some reason, she couldn't remember why anymore.

Why _was_ she mad at him?

Why did his apathy affect her so much?

At that time, she couldn't ignore the gut-twisting pain she felt when the words slipped out of his mouth. She remembered how her heart wrenched and how difficult it was to breathe.

She remembered how she wanted nothing else but for him to leave.

Lucy sighed.

She at least wanted to avoid him until her anger subsided but the dragon slayer was dead set on doing otherwise. As a matter of fact, he made it incredibly difficult to avoid him by even going as far as stopping her from entering the bar.

She had to make it a personal mission to _not_ look at his face lest she'd lose all self-control and maim him. He'd survive, but her pride won't.

Just when she was running out of excuses, Mirajane _had_ to permit her to go on a break given the slow day it was. The more the opportunity Natsu had to approach her.

Fortunately for her, the pointed ignoring had worked wonders and managed to keep the boy at bay. He got the message. Good. At least _something_ was going her way.

And yet, despite her best efforts to get away from the dragon slayer, she still manages to catch herself leering at the boy. One moment she was scribbling notes on a piece of paper from the book she was reading then suddenly giving Natsu the bedroom eyes on the next.

He caught her. Multiple times. Hell, even more than she'd like to admit but she'd deny it if anyone asked.

The fact that the woman up there was listening to the woman down under was not making it any easier either. It would only seem that a part of her anger was being channeled to her libido.

She just wanted to punch him in the face then pull him into the backroom so she could just ram her lips on his–

No, Lucy. Stop right there. No. Bad girl. No treats for you.

The blonde groaned as she plopped herself on the table. Levy looked up, seemingly amused before gloriously interrupting her train of thought.

"A jewel for your thoughts?" The blunette asked with a brow arched while a smirk graced her face. Lucy moaned into her arms before she replied.

"Jewels would be good now right now, thanks."

"Are you trying to rob me off my money?"

The celestial mage mockingly gasped in offense, "I would _never_."

Levy rolled her eyes, holding back a snort before she tossed Lucy a coin which the blonde gracefully caught.

"So, what's eating you?" She asked as soon as the coin reached her hands.

"Other than germs?"

"Other than germs."

Lucy's eyes trailed over to the pink haired dragon slayer who was in a heated discussion with Mirajane. Levy followed her gaze and giggled mischievously when she saw the object of the blonde's frustration.

"On second thought, I don't think I want to know _who_ is eating you." She said, giving the blonde a knowing wink. The joke completely went over the girl's head and to Levy's surprise, her frown only deepened.

She'll be honest, she was expecting a full scale blush, not that.

"We're…" Lucy paused, her breath shaky with hesitance before she decided to continue, "… not exactly in good terms."

Levy couldn't help but arch a brow. She definitely didn't expect this.

"Are you guys fighting?"

Lucy gulped, "Something like that."

"Alright."

The blonde looked up and watched as Levy closed her book, the words _Dragon Customs_ glinting on its cover, and put it aside along with the notes in front of her.

"Tell me what happened."

With a heavy sigh, Lucy began to tell what occurred the day before. Beginning with Natsu's hangover treatment and ending it with the part where she demanded him to leave. If it weren't for the heavy feeling in her chest, she would've been at the faces the solid script mage made as she told her side of the story.

"Wait, let me get this straight." Levy started.

"You _,_ " She pointed at Lucy, "made out with Loke? Isn't he your celestial spirit?"

"Yes!" The blonde wailed in despair as she covered her face with shame, "Stop reminding me, please!"

"Then you got pissed at Natsu and kicked him out when he said he didn't care?"

"He actually stated it more rudely than that– " Levy glared at her, " –and yes! Yes, I did! Crucify me, why don't you?"

"What the _hell_ , Lu?"

"I know! I'm stupid!"

"I'm not saying you are."

"You were implying it."

"Point taken." And to Lucy's suspicion, Levy hummed.

"What?" She asked as she scrutinized the blunette.

"You like him."

"I do _not–_ "

"Admit it, Lu. You have it bad. In more ways than one."

Levy said as she pointedly looked below the blonde's torso in emphasis. Lucy glared at the smiling girl despite the flush on her cheeks which spread the red hue to her ears.

"There is no way that I have feelings for that insensitive jerk."

"Jerk? Yes. Insensitive? No. Tactless? Definitely."

Lucy groaned, "Can we _please_ just get back to the main topic?"

"Fine."

...

"But still, you could've reacted a different way."

"What did you want me to say?!" The blonde exclaimed in protest.

"I don't know! 'I love you, please don't leave'?"

"Did you honestly expect me to just go…" Lucy trailed off then posed haughtily, "I'm Lucy and my best friend doesn't care about who I want to french!"

"Lucy – "

"If he doesn't care then fine! Likewise! He can just leave like all of them!"

She gestured around with mock grace and a scoff, referring to her unsuccessful suitors.

"Lucy." Levy shook her head slightly, "You're overreacting – "

"He can go fuck around with every girl in Fiore if he wants to and I wouldn't give a **damn**."

" _Lucy._ "

The blonde stopped, shooting the blunette a questioning look but only grew confused when she just gave her a pointed look to her side.

She raised a brow then cautiously turned her head. Her brown orbs widened in surprise when it met blank, empty onyx ones.

Lucy felt like she was trapped inside Gray's ice. She was frozen in her spot as she stared at the dragon slayer.

"N-Natsu." She barely managed to choke out when her best friend turned on his heel and left.

She watched his back in horror as he walked back to the bar with an indescribable look on her face. Panic rose to her throat like bile and slowly, she turned her head back to Levy.

A pregnant silence ensued between the both of them.

"L-Lucy?"

Lucy stared at the table wide eyed. Her heart pounded in her ears and her mouth felt so dry in anticipation.

 _How much did he hear? Why did he leave? What do I do now?_

A million thoughts rioted inside the blonde's head as she kept her gaze glued to the wooden surface, unblinking.

After a few more minutes in shell-shocked silence, she finally talked.

"I need to leave town."

Levy frowned, confused.

"What?"

"I need to leave town. I'm gonna pack my bags and leave for Crocus. Or maybe even, Hargeon. Wait no, he'll look there first."

"Lucy, are you being serious right now?"

"I can always go to Acalypha and live with dad even if he's a huge jerk. Maybe even assist him with his guild work."

"Lucy!" Levy practically shrieked. This caught the deluded blonde's attention, "Are you listening to yourself?!"

"Why, yes. Yes, I am." Lucy replied, her voice surprisingly calm.

"Are you seriously planning to ditch Natsu and run away?"

The celestial mage furrowed her brows in thought.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Yes, I will. And you can't stop me."

Levy jumped when Lucy abruptly got on her feet, making her chair shriek in protest.

"Goodbye, Levy. It was a pleasure meeting you."

"Oh no, you're not!"

And with a battle cry, the blunette kicked her seat to the side and jumped on the celestial mage, tackling her down to the table next to theirs.

"What the hell?!" Max screamed as he watched the cards fly up in the air and the coins scattering to the floor when a flash of blue and yellow crashed through their table.

"Levy?!"

"Lucy?!"

Jet and Droy exclaimed simultaneously, their eyes glued to the two girls fighting in front of them.

"The hell are you doing, Lev?!" Lucy managed to shriek as Levy pulled on her hair above her, ripping her ribbon into shreds.

The blonde's hands were embedded inside Levy's hair just the same as she fisted a handful of blue strands.

"The fuck do you think I'm doing?! I'm beating some sense into you!" Levy yelled back.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"No, what the hell is wrong with _you_?!"

The guild can only watch in awe as the two of the most docile and well-behaved girls brawled in the middle of the hall, flying their tiny fists into each others' faces and grabbing fistful of hair if they ever got close enough.

"What. The. Fuck." Was all Gajeel managed to say as he watched everything play out in his seat.

Suddenly, a body came flying out of nowhere and crashed into the metal head, destroying everything in its wake.

The iron dragon slayer opened his eyes and only met the color yellow. He felt his jaw slacken as he realized what just happened.

 _Did shrimp just throw bunny girl across the room?_

And before he knew it, he was at the receiving end of a harsh smack to the face as the blonde supported herself to get on her feet.

 _"Oh, you are so **on** , McGarden!"_

 _"Give me all you got, Heartifilia!"_

Gajeel swore he could still feel his ears ringing when the celestial mage broke out into a shriek as she ran across the room, throwing a mean punch at the blunette's smug face.

"I-I'm still in Earthland, right?"

He looked up and saw the revived takeover mage rooted to her spot, shaking slightly.

"Oh my." was all the taller takeover mage next to her said, barely concealing the amused smile on her face.

"Mirajane! I'm taking this!"

All three of their eyes flew to the pink haired dragon slayer who was waving around a flier in his hand.

Not even bothering to wait for a nod of confirmation, he then rushed into the middle of the girl brawl.

Gajeel's brows furrowed as he watched the idiot run to the blonde blindly.

 _The fuck is this idiot doing?_ He thought just as Natsu stopped in front of Lucy, waving a job flier to her face.

"Lucy! Let's go on a mission – _Ack!_ "

Despite how horrifying the situation was, Gajeel couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction when two fists coming from both sides collided on his face, throwing him to the floor with a resounding smack.

Apparently, that was more than enough to snap the girls out of their reverie.

"What the– Natsu?" Lucy's expression clouded with worry as she got on her knees to tend to the boy. Levy promptly did the same, the fight that just occurred moments ago completely forgotten.

"Ow!" Natsu whined as he rubbed both of his cheeks. Confusion flickered in the blonde's eyes when she saw the flier he was still holding on.

"The hell did you do that for?!" The dragon slayer screamed only to be socked down with the blonde's fist, slamming his head back down to floor.

"YOU DID THAT ON YOUR OWN, IDIOT."

How he still didn't have a concussion, no one knew. But then again, this was Natsu.

"Anyway, Luce! Let's go on a mission!"

Lucy stared at him like he grew a second head. Didn't he just hear her trash-talking him? As a matter of fact, just how much did he hear?

"Natsu, we're fighting." The blonde deadpanned.

"I'm still mad at you."

"I know and I'm _sorry_. Can't we just, I don't know…" Natsu trailed off as he stared at the floor, "Make up or something?"

"No."

"Come on, Lucyyyy." The dragon slayer whined pathetically.

Lucy sighed before she promptly got on her feet, patting the dust off her skirt. She then held both of her hands out and helped the quiet Levy and the whining Natsu get on their feet.

"Sorry about that, Lev."

"No big. I started it after all." Levy grinned assuringly, "Though in my defense, you were being really stupid. No offense."

"None taken."

The two nodded as they shook hands while a grin broke out of their faces.

"Oi oi, shouldn't you apologize to me too?"

"Shut up, Natsu." They chorused.

"Eh. Whatever." Then his signature grin broke out of his face as he help up the flier again.

"Oi, Luce! Let's go on a mission!"

Lucy glared at him disapprovingly.

"I heard you the first time. And my answer's still no."

"Whyyy?" He whined.

"Didn't I just tell you? I'm still mad at you."

"Come on, I said I was sorry!"

"I don't care. Go with Gray or something."

"Fine!"

Lucy watched as Natsu then proceeded to stomp off to the unsuspecting ice mage and push the flier to his face. This earned him a 'what the hell, flame brain!' with him replying 'you wanna go, ice breath?!'

Beside her, Levy giggled while she straightened herself out. The blonde couldn't help but admit that she was amused. It wouldn't be long until Natsu came barging in her window again, begging her to go on the mission like he wanted.

Lucy smiled to herself. Maybe she'll agree. Maybe.

She still wanted to know just how much he heard from that conversation.

* * *

 **GUESS WHO FOUND INTERNET TO EDIT THE CHAPTER AFTER POSTING IT RAW. That's right. Me.**

 **Anyway, it would appear that I'll be gone for May 20 to 27 instead of a straight cut to 30 but I'm still going to disappear on the 29th til 31st. I'M not going to promise anything but I'll TRY to upload something. Like I said, no promises.**

 **And wow, it actually took me that long to crack and give in to the humor. I told you I was no good in drama. And action for that matter. Now I have to debunk everything I had in mind because I totally didn't stick to the plan (the drama was supposed to go on longer but like I said, I cracked). Not that I mind, really. I hated the thing I originally came up with bec drama llama and I'm honestly more comfortable with it like this.**

 **I really, really want to respond to your reviews but unfortunately, my internet time is only short lived. I will try my best to get to them in the next chapter's AN because I love you all and your reviews really make me happy.**

 **And to answer that one question, I WILL NOT BE CHANGING THE RATING TO M. Mostly because I'm a nerd who can't write smut without blushing every ten seconds. I actually used the word 'nubs' once because I couldn't write nipple fir the life of me. Eugh.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I shall now disappear.**

 **Scout, out!**


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